The Lost Fairy Princess
by volturiprincess086
Summary: Hermione the soul survivor of the Golden Trio. Should have been left in peace after the war, she completed what her, Harry, and Ron set out to do. But the fates are hardly ever so kind. Turns out she is a half blooded fairy princess now she's put in a new war sent to protect her great niece Sookie. Will she make it out of another war alive? Who knew Fairies imprint? emo Hermione
1. Info

**Just some info on the world in this story...**

**1. This is a Hermione/Godric story but it will take a while to get there..**

**2. Hermione is the one that killed Tom Riddle after he killed Harry...**

**3. lets pretend Godric wasn't in TX when Sookie, Bill, and Eric went. They just went to save a nest-mate for Stan... So Sookie hasn't met or even heard of Godric yet...**

** story is based on the Harry Potter books, Southern Vampire Mysteries books, and Tru Blood. But mostly SVM when it comes to everyone but Hermione and Godric. If your looking for much Tru Blood influence you've got the wrong story. I boycotted when I saw how much they twisted SVM to make the show, and only saw the first season. Its marked as HP/TB crossover because in this story Godric is Erics maker like in the show and not some old ass vamp that helped kidnap the nest-mate they went to save like in the books. **

**5. Story starts out 2 weeks after the war in HP and during book 9 in SVM 'Dead and Gone'  
**

**6. I don't actually like Sookie so I may change her attitude- or I may keep her as stuck up and bitchy and just make her less important in the story. **

**Well hope you enjoy drop a comment if you like it, or you hate it so much you cant read another word :P**


	2. Surrounded by Death

The war was over, for everyone- but her. People all over the country were mourning their lost loved ones, while celebrating the downfall of the 'Dark Lord.' Even the Weasley's who buried three children and an 'adopted' son just last week had short lived moments of happiness. Hermione had no such moments. She was trapped in her head, seeing her best friend die in front of her over and over again- the worst kind of prisoner of war. Prisoner to her own thoughts and memories. She hadn't spoken a word since she screamed out the killing curse, after seeing Harry fall. Killing the monster that took his light away from the world. She didn't see Ron or Ginny die, Ron ran after the Death Eater that killed Fred outside of the Room of Requirement. Ginny was fighting with Remus and Tonks. None of the three made it back alive.

Hermione never knew a person could feel as alone and lost as she felt since that day two weeks ago. Her parents were dead. Kingsley arrived at the Burrow yesterday to tell her they were found murdered in their home. The muggle coroner found no actual cause of death. Of course in her world everyone knew better, they were hit with the killing curse. Even with them gone the people she missed the most were Harry and Ron. If she was being honest with herself Harry even more so. She loved Ron as a best friend and for a time maybe something more. But her whole life in the magical world had been about Harry. Her and Ron would have never lasted long as friends without Harry as a buffer between them. Hermione and Harry on the other hand had a relationship none could rival. Nothing could have broken them apart. She stuck by him through it all. Even when Ron turned his back. She fought for Harry, got tortured for him, even killed for him. She would have died for him, happily, and without regret. Living without him to talk to was proving to be more than she could bare. She wanted to scream, cry, or curse the gods themselves. She did none of it tho. Crying, talking, even breathing to loudly would make it all real and unfixable. Knowing the truth, and dealing with said truth are two different things entirely. So she chose to watch those around her on autopilot. Spending as much time as she could alone in her room.

Tears were common in the Weasley household. Mrs. Weasley was inconsolable ninety percent of the time, anything could send her into fits of tears. She burned her famed clock now that three of the hands were pointing to a new listing 'Dead.' Mr. Weasley was trying to be strong for everyone. He would sometimes sit and talk with Hermione. Never expecting her to respond never asking her anything or pushing her to talk. Just telling her of his day, what progress the ministry was making, or updates from the Order. George was somber and hardly ever spoke. Bill and Fleur would come over most days. Bill would spend his time with his mother or George, and Fleur would sit with Hermione. Charlie went back to his dragons after all the funerals they were expected to attend. Being at the Burrow was to sad for him. Hermione couldn't go to the funerals. Not to any of them. She honestly believed that if she went she would lose her mind, she was strong- she was Hermione Granger but but seeing the people she loved laid to rest would have broken her. Seeing Harry laid to rest would have killed her.

Moving on would be hard but she couldn't stay much longer. To many memories haunted the Burrow. There were to many bedrooms she couldn't bring herself to enter. She would miss the remaining Weasley's dearly, but when she looked at them all she saw was Ron's nose or Ginny's eyes. George was painful to see- walking around with the face of his dead twin. Even with the missing ear you couldn't look at him and not see Fred. She felt surrounded by death. It was crushing her from all sides. And Hermione just wanted out.

She had no desire to be famous. Reporters surrounded the Burrow daily trying to take her picture. She was going to leave the magical world. She would still use magic, she fought to hard for the right to do so to just give it up. But she would live in the muggle world. Or as muggle as the world gets now that vampires and shifters are running around everywhere. Of course she would come back someday. The Weasley's were all the family she had left she could never leave them forever. She was hoping time away would... not heal her, she was convinced that she would never heal, just make it so every thought or breath wasn't a knee buckling stab to the heart.


	3. Wills Crushing

Another week went by much the same for Hermione, she still hadn't spoken. It wasn't in an attempt to hold time still anymore. She just had nothing to say. The Weasley's were seriously starting to worry. Little did they know that very day her silence would break. Kingsley had floo called letting Molly know he would be there to talk to Hermione just after lunch. This worried Molly. Last time he came to talk to Hermione it was to inform her that her parents were killed. Molly didn't think the poor girl could take much more.

When lunch was set out Hermione did what she did at every meal. Listen to the Weasley's talk while staring at her plate pushing her food around. She must've lost ten pounds in the past three weeks. Ten pounds she couldn't afford to lose. Mrs. Weasley would plead with her to eat, but Hermione only felt sick every time she even thought about it. Because of her lack of nourishment she had to force down a potion to keep her health daily. If she didn't start eating soon Mrs. Weasley was going to start giving her weight gaining potion as well.

True to his word Kingsley arrived not five minutes after the table was cleared. He stood talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley intently; all three shooting her worried glances when they thought she wouldn't notice. It didn't require Hermione's high I.Q for a person to figure whatever he was there for, it was not a social call. Not that she even considered his visit might be. Mrs. Weasley sat next to Hermione and took her hand squeezing slightly to offer what support she could give. Mr. Weasley and Kingsley sat directly across from the pair. Mr. Weasley spoke first.

'Hermione, there are a few things Kingsley wishes to discuss with you. I'm afraid you wont like any of them. You do not have to give any answers today.' He tried to look her in the eyes. She was looking at the table studying the wood grain and nicks from the many Weasley family meals.

'Well almost every magical reporter on the globe is requesting a press conference. They all want to talk to you.' She didn't bother looking at Kingsley after he spoke, there was no need. Every person in the room knew there was no way she would talk to any reporter. So Kingsley continued. 'There is also the matter of the Death Eater trials. Many people would like you to testify at some of the more high profile cases.' This time she did look at him, just to see if he was serious. Did he actually believe she would go talk to the full court? If so he was sourly mistaken. She narrowed her eyes at him, he seemed to get the point because he sighed and moved on. 'I have your parents will, also Harry's.' Hearing his name caused all the breath to rush out of her.

He took out a scroll of parchment and began to read. 'Last Will and Testament of Harry James Potter...' and she snapped. She jumped up so fast her chair flew back. She clamped her hands over her ears in a very childish attempt to block out his voice. But it didn't matter the damage was done. 'Last Will and Testament of Harry James Potter...' she heard over and over. Every delusion was shattered he was gone the document Kingsley was holding was his last request. Harry Potter was really gone, dead, never to be seen or heard from again. She screamed- the first sound she made and it was so full of anguish it broke every heart in the house. Her knees gave out and she hit the kitchen floor. The dam holding back her tears breaking and letting out the flood. She couldn't breathe she was sobbing so hard.

Molly ran to her and tried to hold her still, but she was shaking to hard. George bolted in the room. Took in the scene and ran back out to the potions cupboard. Mr. Weasley and Kingsley stood off to the side not wanting to crowd her, having no clue what to do. Poor bastards. George rushed back in and kneeled in front of her. 'Hermione, drink this.'

'I can't breathe!' She sobbed out finally speaking.

'This will help, it will be okay.' He told her, she wasn't convinced didn't he understand? NOTHING could help! She needed to make him understand, needed to make them all understand. How could they not see it? Nothing would ever be okay again! She pulled him to her making him stumble and fall to the floor, almost on top of her. She clutched her fists in his shirt and looked him in the eyes. Her eyes were wild, yet at the same time empty. George didn't like the look of them. They worried him more than her silence.

'It will never be okay! They're all dead! Harry, Ron, Gin, Fred, Remus, Tonks, Sirius, Mad-Eye, my parents, Dumbledore! What's the point of winning a war when the cost is almost everyone you love? Whats the point of surviving when everyone is gone? Harry is gone! How can I live with out him?!' There wasn't a dry eye in the room, but no one had the answers she was seeking. They all fought because they had to. It was the right thing to do, and people died like they always do in war. Still it's hard to think of your loved ones as casualties of war- even if they were heros.

'They gave their lives for the world to have peace. To be happy and free, we must honor them by living the best; and happiest lives we can.' Molly was trying her best not to sob but made a small choking noise after she spoke. 'Drink the potion Dear, it's just a calming drought.'

Hermione knew she was right, Harry and Ron would not want her to live like this after all they went through for it to be over. They would want her to find happiness somehow in some form. But it made little difference. She didn't feel she had the right to be happy when they were all dead. It was a cruel fate to survive when her partners were gone. There was no one who would ever know her better, never understand her in the ways Harry and Ron did. How could she live the rest of her life without them? How could she just pick up what ever she had left of herself, (which wasn't much) and move on with life like they aren't rotting in the ground right now?! No magic could bring back the dead. She spent the first week after the war reading every book she could get her hands on about death knowing she would find nothing. Once the dead leave this world they don't belong here anymore. Even if there was a way she could never do that to the people she loved. Ripping them out of whatever form of heaven their in, and dragging them back to the harshness of life would be selfish and cruel.

There was only one thing she could do. She stood, drank the potion, and took a few breaths as it took affect. She would not be weak anymore, anything to get them to stop looking at her like a baby bird with a broken wing. After she gets all the legal matters sorted she could start looking for a place to get away. Maybe France, or Italy, she spoke the language. Everyone was always watching her here. She needed room to react to everything, someplace she could scream, cry, or get totally piss drunk without it ending up in a newspaper.

'Sorry about that, you can all sit down now I'm fine.' They gave her looks stating they knew very well that she was not 'fine.' Once they were all seated, even George stayed she continued. 'Kingsley can you just tell me with out reading what he left me?'

'All his possessions and the gold in his Gringots account.' Hermione was surprised she thought for sure he would leave the gold to the Weasleys, or at least most of it. Kingsley seemed to understand her confusion and went on. 'He left all the Black family heirlooms and half of the gold in the Black account to Andromeda Tonks and Teddy Lupin. The other half of the gold was left to The Weasleys which they already know.' George seemed surprised but didn't comment. 'If Ron had made it through Harry's personal vault was to be shared between the two off you, in the case one of you didn't make it, the other was to get the entire contents.' She tried not to react, only one tear fell down her cheek. Which was wiped away swiftly.

'How much gold is in the vault and where are his belongings?' Kingsley pulled a small bag from his robes, and handed it to her.

'All his belongings are in there including what he had with him the night of the battle- extention charm. As for the vault there is just over two hundred thousand galleons.' Again everyone was shocked. Half that sum transfered into muggle money would be much more than enough for a lifetime.

'Can I even go into Gringotts? Goblins are known for their ability to hold a grudge. Can I step foot inside without being set upon by hoards of angry goblins?' George cracked a slight smile at this.

'Yes, they were given a sum to fix any damage from your... last visit. And understand it was necessary to kill Lord Voldemort.'

'I'll go there tomorrow then. As for the press conference, have one if you must- I will not be there, and I expect certain details to be kept quiet. Also I will not be going to any trials. I'm sure you can find many more people who interacted with those Death Eaters more than I did over the last year. I was in a tent for most of it after all. I do plan on writing a statement for one trial tho. Draco Malfoy, and it will be in his defense.' All three faces showed nothing but disbelief.

'Are you off your nut Hermione? How can you defend him after all he has done, he let Death Eaters into Hogwarts! And after what his aunt did to you?!'

'He is a product of his upbringing. He was forced to support a cause he was taught to believe in since birth and yet he still lowered his wand when Dumbledore offered him help, and he refused to identify Harry, Ron, and I when we were taken to the manor even tho he knew it was us the second he stepped into the room. Sending him to Azkaban would just kill the little humanity he managed to hold onto all these years. It would accomplish nothing. Harry and Dumbledore would agree with me, I'm sure of it.' Everyone seemed to be thinking over her little speech. 'Can we move onto my parents will now?'

'Oh yes, of course. Everything was left to you as I'm sure you know, being an only child of only children. But there is a matter you should look over. Now it states that you know you were adopted when you were six days old-'

'Hermione dear why did you not tell us?' Mrs. Weasley looked concerned.

'I knew my whole life, it never made a difference as far as I'm concerned. They were my parents, and I came from a muggle orphanage so I'm still muggle born.'

'Actually you're not. Here.' He pulled a tiny file out of his pocket and enlarged it. Taking out a single piece of parchment, it was gold- he handed it to her. 'It's a magical contract. It says your under a glamour charm, if you put a drop of blood on the document it will break the glamour and alert your birth father.' If she was wearing a glamour charm she wasn't sure she wanted to beak it she was so used to seeing herself as she was, did she really want to change? Then she thought of something.

'Wait when we broke in to Gringotts we were hit with 'the thief's downfall' it removes all concealment and glamour charms. Shouldn't the glamour have been removed then?'

'It would have if the glamour was.. skin deep but the glamour you have is in your blood. If you tested your blood now it would say you are a muggleborn, which clearly you are not.'

'What-do-ya say Granger? No guts no glory, and all that.' George put a pocket knife on the table and pushed it toward Hermione.

'George Weasley! You will be quiet or you will go to your room.' She gave him her famous Molly Weasley stare down, and he swallowed his 'I'm an adult you can't send me to my room' retort. 'Hermione dear, this is a big decision you should think it over before you do anything rash. Once you remove the glamour you will never get it right should you try to put it back on. I'm sure you know; no glamour ever comes out exactly the same twice. If you wanted to contact your father however I'm sure there is another way should you chose to keep the glamour on.'

It was true about glamour charms, their all about intent in the moment they are cast. A full body glamour would be imposable to duplicate after so many years after the spell was cast. Especially since she had no idea who cast it in the first place- or why they would do something so drastic. Deep down she knew she would break it sooner or later. It was a mystery, and Hermione Granger didn't leave mysteries unsolved. Not knowing what she actually looks like will drive her mad every time she looks in the mirror. Then she thought she wouldn't be Hermione Granger anymore, and couldn't figure out if that was a good or bad thing. She could escape not tell the wizarding world- change her face and name. Only those she loved would know, which is basically only the Weasleys. She could be free. But that wasn't true either, she would never be free of her past. Hermione was Hermione no matter what name she went by or how she looked. She maybe able to hide behind those things to the magical world but she could never fool herself.

'I guess I have to think about it.'

'Take all the time you need Hermione.' Mr. Weasley reached across the table and patted her hand. He and Mrs. Weasley were smiling at her. George looked rather put out. She figured that didn't really matter.

'If that's all Kingsley, you could just leave the paperwork I need to go over. I feel a headache coming on I'd like to rest a while.' She tried to give him a small smile, which looked like a grimace and stood.

'Of course, oh- there is going to be a Ball once all the mess is reasonably taken care of at the M.M I'd say in two months time, you all are the first I've told. Should give you plenty of time to pick out beautiful gowns.' He winked at Hermione and Molly.

'I'm sure it will be wonderful, but I doubt I'll be there.'

'Surely you'll change your mind Hermione, every girl loves a Ball.' Mrs. Weasley smiled, and Hermione hid her anger at the statement.

'I see nothing to celebrate, and I will not go to a Ball and pretend to do so. Besides, I'm leaving soon.'

'Leaving?' All four asked in unison.

'Yes, the magical world, most likely the country. For a time at least.' Molly and George's jaws dropped, Arthur gave her a sad, understanding smile, and Kingsley looked thoughtful. 'I need some time away from everything. to think, and sort some things out. Anyway, Goodbye Kingsley, I'll see you all at diner.' She looked around at them all and left the kitchen.


	4. A Fairy Large Problem

It was midnight, Hermione was awake reading the magical contract, Kingsley had given her three days earlier. She took care of everything else she had to the day after his visit. She hired a muggle friendly Gringotts representative to take care of the sale of her parents home, and dental practice. She had her name added to Harry's vault officially. To which the money was to be sent when the properties were sold, along with all the money her parents left her in the muggle bank. She had ten thousand gallons transfered into a muggle fortune, and took a thousand gallons with her. All she had left to do is shop for some clothes since she was severely lacking in that department. And think about the damn contract that had been driving her mental for the past three days.

If it was just about the glamour she would have done it already, but the contacting her 'father' part she was having a problem with. She couldn't help but wonder why it said nothing about her 'mother.' Maybe their pruebloods, meaning the mother wouldn't be mentioned because legal matters are only attended to by the head of the household. Which is the oldest male. With her luck her parents are Death Eaters. The Daily Prophet would have a field day. Their just waiting for something to actually write in stead of publishing the same rubbish about her over and over. She was suddenly grateful that witches came of age at seventeen, even if Bellatrix was her mother and Voldemort himself her father they would have no say in her life if she did not grant it which obviously she never would. She also didn't think she could just pack up and play house with some family. She was not a normal seventeen year old and she had no desire to be treated like one. Hermione started out wise beyond her years, her experiences over the past seven years made her seventeen going on forty. She did not need to be parented, by anyone but Mrs. Weasley who was unstoppable.

Despite all that her mind was made up, she was going to do it. Hermione stood and put a robe over the 'POTTER' quidditch jersey. It was one of the smaller ones she found after going through some of Harry's belongings. She figured it was from third or fourth year. She shoved her wand in her pocket, took the contract and left her room. Making her way up the flight of stairs barefoot as quietly as she could to Georges room. She stubbed her toe on the edge of a stair, and had to bite her tongue to stop herself from cursing. Hermione knocked lightly on Georges door, oddly enough feeling nervous of what he would say when he saw her there.

'Hermione? Whats the matter?' He walked to his bedside table and grabbed his wand.

'Come with me to the kitchen. I'm going to break the glamour.' He smiled his first true smile she'd seen since the war.

They made it down stairs with out waking Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Quite a feat if you asked George. Hermione flicked her wand and the oil lamps lit around the room. She placed the contract on the table and stood before it. She was terrified- she had the worse case of butterflies she'd ever experienced. Taking her wand out with a shaky hand she pointed it at her finger.

'Don't be scared if you look like Millicent Bulstrode you can do the same glamour- even if you don't look like you do now, anything is better than Millicent Bulstrode.'

'Yeah thanks George, you always know just what to say.'

'Was that a joke?!' He put his hand over his heart in a very dramatic gesture.

Hermione didn't answer him she cut her finger. Two drops landed in the middle of the parchment and it started to glow gold. The glow soon surrounded the contract, Hermione, and half the table. A moment later the glow was gone along with the contract and George was looking at Hermione with his mouth hanging open- speechless.

Her hands shot up to trace her features. 'Please tell me I don't actually look like Millicent Bulstrode.' She didn't wait for a reply, which was good because George was is no fit state to give her one. She conjured a full length mirror. When she saw her reflection she was no better off than him. Her mouth fell open in surprise. She was beautiful, seriously beautiful. Her hair no longer held any trace of frizz. It hung to her waist in lazy chocolate brown curls. Her eyes were larger, or more open, and sapphire blue. The other changes to her face were less drastic- her nose was slightly more upturned, cheekbones just a tad more obvious, eyebrows darker- more arched, and her lips fuller. Her robe hung down to her knees in stead of just above as it did moments ago, so she was a little shorter. She was much more curvy, but her breast seemed smaller- more round and still a respectable C cup, but smaller. Her butt was much rounder she noticed as she turned to the side. And her legs looked very toned.

'You're hot Hermione! You maybe the hottest bird I ever saw. Even hotter than Fleur; maybe you have some veela blood.'

'Um, thanks?' Hermione didn't get complements on her looks often so when it did happen she always felt embarrassed. She figured she would have to get over that if she was going to walk around looking like this.

Three things happened at once, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked into the kitchen, two loud pops were heard, and an owl flew into the kitchen window with a bang. Hermione, George, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley pointed their wands at the two beautiful people that entered with the pops. It was a man and a woman, the man looked older. Still beautiful, but with subtle lines on his face. His hair long pale and gold, hung to his shoulders. The woman was gorgeous, at least six feet tall, with dark hair and almond shaped dark brown eyes. Her skin as pale as milk. They were both thin and made her feel very short.

'Hermione dear is that you?' Mrs. Weasley asked not taking her eyes off the strangers that just appeared in her house somehow getting through the wards.

'Yes,'

'Who are you and what are you doing in my home- how did you get past the wards?'

'My name is Niall Brigant, this is my granddaughter Claudine Crane. I am because my daughter- you, young one,' he pointed to Hermione, 'alerted me. You bled on the adoption contract. As for how we entered through your wards- well they don't work on us.'

'What are you then?' George asked the question that went through all their minds.

'Fairies.' Hermione's mouth fell open for the second time that night.

'Oh my gods, you're Niall Brigant Prince of the fea and ruler of Faerie. You're telling me I'm a fairy?' The Weasley's were in awe, fairies didn't interact with the wizarding world often. Some potions require fairy blood and it is unbelievably hard to come by.

'You young one are a half fairy, your mother was a witch.'

'Was?'

'Yes I'm sorry to say she has moved on from this plane. She was a wonderful woman. You can lower your wands we mean no harm.'

'Of course, of course please have a seat. Would you like some tea? Without lemon obviously.' Mrs. Weasley was flustered but went straight into hostess mode, setting up the kettle, and pulling out small pies. Before retrieving the owl that hit the window, removing the letter from Charlie tied to it's leg, and watching it fly away.

'Thank you.' Both fairies sat at the table with Mr. Weasley, George and Hermione, while Mrs. Weasley bustled about.

'I'm very happy to met you, please tell me something about yourself.' Claudine had a beautiful smile.

'Well, my name is Hermione Jean Granger. I'm a witch and former student of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry-'

'You are full of deep pain, it blocks your light. Is there something I can do for you child?' Niall interrupted her.

'No, thank you, I'm fine and have everything I need.'

Niall studied his daughter. He knew she played a major role in the war that just ended in this world, he didn't know the extent of her experiences but from the look in her eyes she had a very hard time. She was very beautiful and to the trained eye obviously fea her ears were not as pointed as full a blooded fea, but they did have peaks. She was surrounded by blackness, and dark magic. Some one practiced a very dark spell on her. From the amount of black attached to her he would guess more than once. He noticed the power coming off the girl she was very magical with a strong spark. She did not resemble him much, favoring her mother more, but was with out a doubt blood of his blood. He could not read her as well as he could most- but could tell she was at a cross roads in her life. He reasoned giving her a push could only help her.

'You are planning to leave this place; where will you go?' Niall waited for her answer, she seemed un-trusting after he asked and the little information he was getting from her mind shut off. Her mind was now locked tight.

'I do not like people messing about in my head, if you would like to know something ask don't invade my thoughts or memories.' She spoke kindly, but stern.

'Very well, I will not attempt it again you have my word. My point in asking was if you find the need to get away I think it would be a good idea for you to spend some time with your Grand-Niece Sookie Stackhouse. She is about a decade older than you, and only an eighth fea. Sookie doesn't qualify as fea royalty like you do. But even still you both may be targets, there is a war going on between fairies. My brother Rogan's son Breandan has made it his goal to kill every human with fairy blood; he believes they are the reason for infertility in the fae world. I believe you and Sookie should meet and keep each other safe. She is a telepath, she can not read fea or vampires but she could tell when they are coming.'

'You want to drag Hermione into another war? Thats bullshit! Hermione I say fuck this and we go with the Millicent Bulstrode plan, forget all about fairies.' George looked furious at the thought of Hermione, who was so broken and damaged form the war they all just so narrowly escaped weeks before being dragged into another.

'George!'

'Molly- I have to agree with George, this is as he said bullshit.' It was the first time Hermione or George had ever heard Mr. Weasley cuss. 'This young woman just got off the front lines of a war that lasted years. She has seen and done things no person her age, or any age for that matter should ever have see or do. And you want to put her in another war?' Mrs. Weasley set out the tea tray and sat beside her husband.

'I know of the war, and to some extent her part in it. Rest assured I have no intention of her being in this one. But once her blood hit the parchment her name was added to our Hall of Records, which can be accessed by many, it is only a matter of time before Breandan finds out about you. He is the reason you were hidden in the first place. If she went to stay with Sookie she would be closer to Claudine and her twin brother. Should anything go wrong they can get messages to me, and help you with your newly unbound fea magic. I know you are said to be 'the brightest witch of the age' still I would like you to have someone to teach you that is of our blood. There is also the matter that you lost your adopted family, and I believe many beloved friends- Sookie to has suffered much loss over the years.'

Once again curiosity killed the cat. She should have just left well enough alone. She just put herself in another war. By the sounds of it she would also be hunted again. As the daughter of the Prince and not entirely fea she would be a top target for this Breandan. She did something she never thought she would do again. She laughed- she laughed so hard she almost fell out of her seat. Tears fell from her eyes. The fairies were confused why she was laughing at all, the Weasleys thought she finally cracked. Which was the case. She was coming to believe; despite her lack of faith in divination that her life was destined to be brutal and short. If she didn't laugh she would surly cry. So she laughed; a mad out of control laugh in till she was gasping for breath. Molly tried calming Hermione, once her laughter subsided.

'You don't have to go anywhere, you can be kept safe and out of this fairy war. We can hide you in the magical world better than in the muggle world. Maybe you could stay at Hogwarts, I'm sure Minerva would have no problem with you staying. You could re-do your seventh year and take your N.E.W.T's.' That sobered Hermione up.

'No! I can't go back to Hogwarts!' She would not go back, even the thought of returning to the scene of the battle made her stomach twist, and eyes water. For a moment she was lost in flash backs from the war. George grabbed her hand just as she was seeing the green light envelop Harry causing her to jump.

'Sorry Herms, maybe we should talk about you being half fairy instead of about war, or hiding. What does it mean for her? Being half fairy, will iron and lemon be a problem?' It was fairly obvious George wanted nothing to do with Niall. He was still seething about Hermione being put in danger from yet another lunatic hell bent on the purity of blood, but he could see she was close to losing it, and had to change the subject.

'They may irritate her skin. Her human half will counteract fairy weaknesses, maybe not entirely but enough so she would not be in danger. Just as her fairy half will make her more resilient to most forms of magic. She is the best of both worlds. She has the potential to live for many hundreds of years, and will age very slowly. There's a good chance she will look almost as she does now in sixty or seventy years. You also have enough fairy blood to imprint, the fairy way of finding your mate, or soul mate as you would call it. Now there is the matter of your name. You can, of course keep the name you've been using all these years or you can go by the name your mother and I gave you at birth- Princess Caelia Avari Brigant.'

'Grandfather perhaps we have given her enough to think about for one day, the hour is late we should leave her to rest.'

'Yes, I think that would be best.'

Mr. Weasley was glad they were leaving Hermione looked so tired, it was common knowledge in the Weasley home that she put up silencing charms every night because she woke screaming every few hours. He feared this encounter would only make everything worse for her, now that she was being pulled into another war. At the same time it was hard not to admire her, she had been through more than anyone knew including himself and yet she still gets out of bed everyday. He and Molly had been talking about having to put her in St. Mungo's before she started talking three days ago. When she spoke they started hoping she would get better, no such luck she was just as bad. Only now she answered when you asked her a question. He feared the girl he loved as a daughter was dying before his very eyes.

Mrs. Weasley was having simular thoughts. The loss of Fred, Ron, Harry, and Ginny hit her hard- as it would any mother. She thought more than once of just ending all her pain and joining them on the other side. Thankfully she had other children including Hermione and a husband to hold onto, and keep herself from giving up. They all needed her to be strong. Hermione had nothing to hold onto and no one to be strong for. She was slipping away and nothing the Weasley's could do would help. She thought it might be better if Hermione did go, even tho her being in more danger was unthinkable, Hermione needed to be needed right now. She needed a task to set her mind on, instead of sitting around drowning in turmoil.

The Weasley's and Hermione bid the fairies good night after Hermione promised to think over what her father wanted from her. He gave her a several pieces of parchment to look over on fairies, and about Sookie Stackhouse and told her he would be back in two days time. He hoped by then she would have an answer for him. Hermione made no promise she would. It was almost three a.m by the time they were all in their rooms, it was time once again for Hermione to try and brave her nightmares.

**Only one review?! Come on people let me know if you like it!**


	5. Was There Ever a Question

The information Niall left with her was very useful and hand written, on beautiful thick parchment. Like the adoption contract but silver. Granted she knew most of it already. They studied fairies in fifth year 'Care of Magical Creatures.' Fairies live in a dimension apart from our own. Strangely enough they interact more willingly with the muggle world than the magical. There is bad history between witches, wizards, and fairies. (The same could be said for most other magical races and the wizarding world.) Niall her father, is Prince and ruler of the fea- including goblins, brownies, nymphs, merpeople, pixies- and the list goes on- all fall under his rule. Well if she wasn't one hundred percent sure she wasn't going to Azkaban for breaking into Gringotts before, she was now.

Hermione appreciated the two parchment's on partial fairies the most. She was worried what being half fairy was going to do to her magic. She didn't feel much different. The only time she felt any different at all was when she was sitting next to the oak tree reading. Her skin seemed to buzz, and her magic seemed a bit stronger when she was outside in the fresh air. Apparently this was normal for half (or even less) fairies. The irony was not lost on Hermione that she was half sky fairy and scared to fly on a broomstick. Fairy magic is quite simular to magic practiced in the wizarding world. In some aspects stronger, but in others weaker. Having both sides of her magic now active inside her she wasn't surprised (even if it only happened outdoors) to feel a small power increase.

The biggest problem she was having with being half fairy was the possibility of imprinting. She wanted no part of it, she knew who she loved, and would not let fairy magic replace him in her heart. It would be the worst tye of betrayal- to give her heart away when she already promised it to another. Someone who loved her before she was a fairy princess. Hermione spent the entire day before reading, hoping to find a spell to counteract an imprint with no results. And imprinting was more common than most people would think. Most assume there is only one person born, in all the world perfect enough to be considered someone else's soul mate. This is a common misconception if she were to search the world over she would find a handful of people with an aura (which is the reflection of the soul) perfectly suited for her own. If she were all 'human' she would be able to pick any one of them and consider him her soul mate. Having half fea blood her magic would bind her to the first one she saw, as her mate. It is said to be stronger than love at first sight. Hermione wanted to avoid this at all costs.

There was also parchment with information about her birth mother, she was surprised to learn she was a Greengrass. Which made Daphne and Astoria (who was named after her mother) her cousins. She never had any contact with the Greengrass sisters. Daphne was in her year at Hogwarts, Astoria a year below them, but they were in Slytherin. Their parents were never involved with the Death Eaters as far as Hermione knew, but even so Gryffindor's and Slytherin's were not friendly to each other. She felt no need to meet the Greengrass's her mother was dead. That was her only connection to them, and it was hardly a connection at all since she never knew her.

It seemed Niall didn't know Sookie Stackhouse, her twenty-eight year old great-niece very well. there were only a few lines on the parchment about her. She lives in Bon Temps a small town in Renard Parish, Louisiana. Also, she has a blood tie to a vampire whom it says she is not romantically involved with 'at the moment'. Hermione snorted at this, if she had a blood tie to this vampire she was romantically involved weather she admitted it or not. Blood ties are very intimate Hermione doubted Sookie would enter into one with someone she did not care for. They can only broken by death or very dark magic. A blood tie is a serious matter in the vampire world. It goes on to explain about her telepathy, Hermione wondered if occlumency would work around her. She hoped so, she had a feeling she would be seeing her very soon and didn't want anyone in her head. Her thoughts and memories are hers and hers alone.

In her heart of hearts Hermione already knew she was going to Louisiana. She knew she should not go, she fought a war about blood purity already her job should be done. The thought of more blood shed, and watching others die was to much, but she couldn't back out now. She cut her finger, she bled on the contract, she made her bed, and as her mother always said- now she would have to lay in it. If keeping her telepathic niece alive was all that was expected of her this time around it couldn't be half as bad as last time. Still she would have to be blind to not see the similarities between the to situations. One side believing all those with impure blood should be killed. Voldemort believed- or so he said, that mixing magical and muggle blood dilutes magic. Hermione thought it was just an excuse to gain an army to kill and torture for him. Breandan believes mixing blood is the reason for infertility in fairies. On the other side Niall fights because he has no choice he is ruler, and he believes it is right to do so. Hermione could tell how strongly he felt in the way he wrote. Harry unlike Niall wasn't leader because he was a Prince, he was chosen by destiny, but even if he was not he would've fought just as hard. There will never be a person, human, fea, mortal, or other wise to compare to Harry Potter. His morals ruled him, and he would give everything to fix what he saw as injustice. Which is why Hermione was going to Louisiana, it's what Harry would do. He would never leave family (even if they never met,) to fend for themselves and neither could she.

So the next day when Niall came inquiring she could tell him the 'good' news. There were still many things she needed to do before she could go however. The information on Sookie said she lived in a house surrounded by acres of woods. Since she did not want to stay with Sookie she would need a new tent. This one would be much grander since she was going to be there for an undisclosed period of time. She would get one of the more expensive brands which are like houses inside, and do not smell like cat pee. Also she would have to stock up on healing potions, and herbs. There were many other things she would need clothes, a new wand, pots, pans, and books on fairy magic, wards, and imprinting. A trip to Diagon Alley would be necessary which she was not looking froward to in the least. Last time, when she was going to Gringotts she was mobbed by people and reporters. Now that she broke the glamour she had to re-glamour herself to have brown eyes, and tease her hair to have some frizz when she stepped out of the Burrow wards. Even if it was just to read by the pond a short ways away incase anyone was lurking about. She was still much more beautiful than before but she was recognizable as herself. Or she thought so anyway, she hadn't actually tested it in public yet. She would tell Niall she needed a week to prepare and then it will be off to the United States for Hermione Granger.

**Not a very long chapter but the next one will make up for it :)**


	6. The Tag Along

Niall was very pleased when Hermione told him she would go with Sookie, after seven days to prepare for her stay. He allowed her to continue to think it was for Sookie's protection. When in reality it was for her own. He asked the Northman to keep watch over her. It hurt his ego to ask a vampire for help, but it would be worth it if she was kept safe. To Breandan she would be the ultimate prize. Not only is she Niall's daughter, but she is also what he hates most. Niall truly feared for her. It didn't help matters that the girl seemed to be hanging on by a thread. She looked like she hadn't slept in months, and her eyes were in a constant state of swollen redness. He was not even sure she would fight if it came to one, or if she would willingly welcome death.

He cloaked himself and stayed in her room one night. He watched as a constant stream of tears ran down her cheeks, and she tried to breathe through her sobs while repeating 'please' to the empty room. It was a heartbreaking scene. Her sleep was perhaps even worse. She threw herself from side to side whimpering the short amount of time she actually did sleep. Every two or three hours she would wake up screaming, bloodcurdling screams. Yelling for 'Harry' and crying herself sick. He wasn't trying to spy on the girl, that night he was informed Breandan knew of her. She had to be protected. She now had two fairies around her at all times unbeknownst to her of course. He respected her privacy when it came to her guards, they were not to enter her room with out just cause to do so. Hermione would not be happy if she knew he had watched such personal moments, but if he explained she would surly understand. If he allowed her guards take the same liberties however he doubted she would forgive him. All there was left to do was hope the extra portals around Sookie's home- which he could move a small army through in a matter of minutes, would be protection enough to keep her safe and alive.

Hermione spent the first three of her seven days left in England shopping for everything she would need with George. She bought a whole new wardrobe of clothes, and several new cloaks. Bellatrix's wand was now ash in the Weasley's fireplace, her new wand from the recently re-opened Ollivanders felt wonderful in her hand compared to the wand that committed so many atroaties. She spent a small fortune in the apothecary on pre-made potions and all the ingredients to make any she may need in future. Honeydukes opened a branch in Diagon Alley- she bought all her old favorites, and even two boxes of fifty count grade A blood pops which were much more expensive because they were made with veela blood.

The tent; if it can even be called that, was top of the line. George said it was 'a castle fit for a princess.' The walls looked and felt like stone. The sitting area was twice the size of Gryffindor common room, with large comfortable furniture. A fire place taller than her, and wide enough for five people to fit inside took up a good portion of the east wall. The master suite was huge with a king size four poster bed, curtains of sheer white and purple silks hung around the bed falling almost to the floor. The in suite bathroom had a tub the size of a small lake. There were two guest bedrooms, and one room for children with two sets of bunk beds inside. There was another full and a half bath. But the library and full sized kitchen sealed the deal. It cost quite a bit of gold, and was larger than she needed, but like George said, 'it's better to have to much space than not enough.' He also pointed out that if there was going to be fighting going on she would probably have to room and board some people. She hoped he was wrong. He surprised her one day with a box of new merchandise he developed just for her. Defensive contraptions to be used against different types of threats she might encounter. Like vampires, werewolves, shifters, and of course fairies. There were also regular joke items, and a game of truth or dare that came with a vile of veritaserum. She tried to tell him it was too much, and to let her pay him, but he insisted. Saying she was the only younger sibling he had left so to just take it. This of course made Hermione and Molly who was fixing lunch both cry.

Sometimes she- not forgot, but didn't think of the fact that she wasn't the only one grieving. Perhaps that made her selfish, or maybe it was just because the Weasley's were all starting to do slightly better. The day with George was the first time Molly had cried in days, George himself was telling jokes again and talking about re-opening the shop, Arthur brought home an old muggle black and white T.V last week and has been like a child after Christmas ever since. She couldn't figure out if she envied them, or she was angry because of it. It hadn't even been a month since the final battle, and there they were moving on with their lives. When she could barely stop her self from screaming every moment of the day. When you lose almost everyone important in your life what else can you do but cling to all you had left of them, even if all you had left was agony, and memories that could send anyone on a one way trip to St. Mungo's.

She believed one day she could make peace with her parents deaths. Not that it didn't break her heart, but they had been drifting apart since she found out she was a witch. They belonged to different worlds, and while she would always love them she could learn to live with out them- as awful as it was to say. Ginny and Fred like the other Weasley's took her into their family with out reservation. Ginny was the only real female friend she had, and Hermione saw her as a younger sister. Fred was a jokster and always knew how to cheer you up when times were dark. The world lost something truly precious when they left. Now Ron, well she thought for awhile that they would end up together. She could see how wrong about that she had been. Ron was the perfect big brother and best friend, he teased her, protected her, and even tried to be tortured in her stead. Dealing with his death would be a true test of her strength. Each one of them took a small piece of her soul with them when they left, and she knew she would feel the loss for the rest of her life. She would never be the same, but she would be able to move froward- someday.

Then there was Harry, they had gotten closer than anyone knew all those months alone in the tent after Ron left. He caught Hermione singing one day while washing pots in a small stream, since then he would have her sing to him every night. After awhile they ending up sharing a bed, just holding each other while she sang him to sleep before falling asleep herself. He was her leader, the voice of her conscience, and the person she gave her heart to fully and with out ever intending to do so. She begged him one day when they were staying in the forest to just forget the war, to stay there with her- grow old together. It was a pointless question that she couldn't stop herself from asking. She knew Harry could never turn his back on the world when he was chosen to save it. He told her he would happily grow old with her when the war was over- thats when she knew he loved her too. The happiness of that realization was short lived, there was to much to be done to bask in the joys of newly recognized love. The time between then and the final battle seemed so long when she was living it, now it seems so painfully short. All to soon the final battle was upon them. Most of it was a blur in her memory, and when the dust cleared she was standing between two bodies. She guarded Harry for hours not letting anyone near him just holding his head in her lap stroking his hair. Not speaking, not even crying, just singing in her mind and memorizing his features. When she thought of it she could still feel the weight of his head on her thighs.

Hermione lost him twice that night. She pleaded with him, begged, and even screamed at him to let her go into the forest with him after he found out he was the last horcrux. She knew what it would mean, she understood perfectly that she would die beside him if she went, but it didn't matter. She would go with him to the gates of hell itself if he was determined to go. Nothing short of a full body bind would stop her from following him. Which is what Harry ended up doing- she was forced to watch helpless as the man she loved walked willingly to his 'death.' After an eternity she was released and ran to the Great Hall where Harry and Voldemort were circling each other. She remembers locking eyes with him just before the green light hit. She had no memory of killing Voldemort, the next thing she remembers is holding him, the feel of his hair, and his still warm skin. How could she move on with him gone, he was her future, her everything. The others may have taken small bits of her soul, but Harry took the rest. Her soul, mind, and heart, he took them all. Wouldn't allowing herself to feel a single moment of happiness without him diminish the love and bond they shared? What would it say about her if she were able to just go on like nothing happened?

Her dark musings were interrupted by a knock. Molly opened the door to the nearly dark room, and saw Hermione sitting on the edge of her made bed holding her red and gold striped 'POTTER' shirt and spilling tears she didn't even realize were falling. Molly didn't know if she should be more concerned now that Hermione's tears nearly never stopped, or when she wasn't crying or speaking at all.

'Herrmione, Kingsley is down stairs, he needs to talk to you. Why don't you wash your face and come down.' Hermione didn't answer but she got up and made her way to the bathroom. Her eyes were almost swollen shut. She preformed a glamour to hide the fact that she was crying herself nearly blind. After washing her face she couldn't help but stare at the beautiful girl in the mirror. She missed her plain brown eyes, and bushy hair. Sighing she figured it was just another part of her that was now lost.

Kingsley sat at the kitchen table with a butter-beer, twirling the cap between his fingers. He smiled at her when she entered. 'Hello Hermione.'

'Hello Kingsley, what can I do for you today?' His face changed to nervous for a second which worried Hermione.

'A few things actually, first I wanted to tell you that I've been in contact with the Prince, when you leave in three days I will be going with you to connect your fireplace to the international floo. So you can travel between your tent and the Burrow. Now to get the other easy matter out of the way, have you decided which name you will be going by yet?' Hermione disagreed with Kingsley, deciding weather or not to change her name was not easy, not at all. She had been giving it some thought tho.

'I'm going to keep my first name, change my middle, and hyphenate my last names. So Hermione Avari Granger-Brigant.'

'Thats beautiful Hermione.' Mrs. Weasley smiled at her.

'I just need to you sign here and your name change will be official, now I must warn you after I submit this document others will know, and the reporters will smell blood in the water. I wanted to ask you if I could be permitted to make a comment just saying that yes your father is the Prince and you have just recently connected with him. They will not give you a moments peace after, but since your leaving- and no one knows where your going it shouldn't be to bad. There is a more serious reason for my visit. I gave the statement you wrote the day after the battle detailing the Death Eaters you encountered on the mission you, Harry, and Ron undertook on Dumbledore's orders, along with the statement you wrote concerning Draco Malfoy to the Wizengamot. It will suffice and you'll not be required to testify. As far as the Malfoy situation-'

'Don't tell me their still sending him to Azkaban.'

'Well thats up to you actually, either he is monitored for one year in Azkaban to prove he is not a danger to the public, or he is left in your charge for a year.' Hermione's mouth dropped open.

'You can't be serious. There has to be someone more qualified to make such observations.'

'I have to disagree, I don't think they could find anyone better. You will give him a fair chance despite his past, and your own personal past with him. Keep in mind however that you do not have to do this, if he were to go to Azkaban for the year he would be held in a low security cell, and kept out of danger from the other inmates. After his year is up he will be evaluated and if he kept out of trouble released. I had a magical contract drawn up in case you should decide to do this.' He pushed a scroll of parchment across the table to her. 'It basically states if he were to use magic against you in anyway his chance would be up and he will be sent directly to Azkaban, if he talked to any reporter about you the same applies. There are a few other stipulations, I'll leave it with you to go over. The Malfoy's along with the other Death Eaters that did not fight in the final battle are being held in their homes. If you would like to talk to Draco with out going to the manor I can set up a meeting at the M.M.'

Hermione seriously had to think about this. Spending a year with Draco Malfoy- in a tent no less, sounded like hell. But she truly believed that he didn't belong in Azkaban. Hermione remembered perfectly the look in Sirius's eyes when he would think about his time in Azkaban could she sentence someone else she believed to be innocent to the same fate? Even if he is her childhood enemy? Then there was the fact she was being pulled into another war, would he be better off away from her, even if that means being in Azkaban?

There was nothing for it she would have to go talk to him. She figured going to the M.M right now would be worse than returning to the scene of her torture. A sad truth but reporters would be all over and she didn't want to deal with them. There would most likely be reporters outside of Malfoy Manor as well but they would be easy to get around with Harry's- her cloak as long as an auror opened the gate for her to get in. Once she was on the other side of the wards they wouldn't be able to see her.

'Will you set it up with one of the auror's to open the gates at a certain time tomorrow? So I can slip in?'

'You want to go to Malfoy Manor?' Molly looked angry, Kingsley looked merely surprised.

'Not particularly, but it would be better than going to the ministry right now. To many people and reporters.' Kingsley snorted.

'It's rather amusing that you don't believe reporters are people.' George who Hermione didn't know was standing behind her laughed. She turned to face him and again her stomach twisted- he was smiling.

'You know perfectly well what I mean George Weasley,' she narrowed her eyes at him.

'Yeah that people _and_ reporters will be all over M.M. Why are you talking about M.M anyway?' He sat a seat down from Kingsley.

'She's going to talk to Draco Malfoy, and was trying to explain why she thought going to that house of horrors was a better idea than going to M.M.' Yes Molly was angry.

'Herms you can't be serious. You're going back there? Now granted I only read a statement you wrote when you were half mental, but I'm pretty sure the manor has some bad memories for you.'

'George Weasley!' Molly threw her dish towel onto the counter.

'What we were all half mental that day.'

'Don't say that in front of me, that statement is going to be used in court.' Kingsley scowled at George.

'Sorry Kings.' He clapped him on the shoulder.

Hermione was getting angrier by the second. How could George make light of the day of the battle?! 'I already said I don't particularly want to go back there, but it will be more private and I won't be mobbed by people _and_ reporters.'

'It's settled then- I'm coming with you.' He sat back in his chair daring her to object. And object she did.

'No, I have to talk to Malfoy alone.' She crossed her arms over her chest as if to say so deal with it.

'Why do you have to talk to him alone?'

'Because this is my decision and I have to deal with it.'

'I remember this bushy haired girl who was always telling her friend he didn't have to do everything alone. That getting help wasn't passing off your responsibilities to others. Good advice that was.' It was like George had slapped her. No it was worse, throwing her words to Harry back in her face may have made his point but it also hurt Hermione more than he could have realized.

'Fine you want to come, come. I don't care. Kingsley I was thinking around noon. Will that work?'

'Yes, I think I can manage that.'

'Wonderful, if you'll excuse me I have something I must look up.' It was a lie, she just needed to get out of that room. She felt tears welling up before she even cleared the kitchen doorway. Luckily her back was turned.

The next day Hermione and George arrived just on time, they slipped in and waited for the gates to shut before removing the cloak. Malfoy Manor looked much less hunted mansion, and more muggle high school, or muggle prison during the day than it did at night. It was no place she would want to grow up that's for sure. Her assessment of the manor could have more to do with her last visit, either way she did not like it there.

When they reached the tall wooden double doors Hermione's heart was pounding. She looked over at George, who gave her an encouraging look and nodded for her to knock. With one last deep breath Hermione knocked on the door. The Malfoy's didn't know Hermione was coming, Kingsley said he would trust Draco because Hermione had vouched for him, but nothing could make him trust Lucius. He wanted them to have no time to plan anything that could harm her. There were extra auror's on the grounds and in the house but the Malfoy's were not told why. A small elf in a clean white pillowcase answered the door and looked at Hermione with wide eyes.

'Missus Granger! Twinkle is proud to meet miss- best friend of Harry Potter, Dobby always talking about Mr. Harry Potter sir. Twinkle misses Dobby.' Her voice was very squeaky and she looked young. Hermione was happy to see no outward signs of abuse on the poor elf. She had given up on S.P.E.W a few years ago. House elf's did not want to be free, winky is probably still a mess after being released over three years previous. All she could hope for was them being taken care of and not hurt.

'It's nice to meet you Twinkle, and I miss Dobby as well. He was a good friend. I was wondering if I could speak with Draco Malfoy.'

'Of course! I will tell him right away, come with me missus, sir.' Wanting to help and impress Missus Granger and the man with her twinkle grabbed their hands and Pop-ed them into the drawing room, before going to find Master Draco.

Hermione should have known the elf would POP her into this room. The last room in the house she wanted to be in, the one she was tortured in. She looked around, everything looked exactly the same, she looked towards the doorway that led to the dungeons she knew were just below her feet. George was talking to her but she didn't hear a word. She remembered every moment she spent in that room and saw it play out in her mind. She jumped nearly a foot in the air when George put his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with terrified eyes.

'I can't be in this room.' She ran to the door she would wait in the hallway and have Malfoy take her to one of the other ten sitting rooms a house this size was bound to have. George was right behind her, when she opened the door she almost ran into Narcissa Malfoy. To say Narcissa was shocked to see Hermione Granger in her home would be quite the understatement. Hermione got control of her breathing, stood up straight, and whipped any trace of emotion from her face. Narcissa was impressed, if the girl wasn't muggleborn and didn't have the Gryffindor foolishness she would have made a fine Slytherin. They stared at each other for a moment before Draco walked down the hall.

'Granger? What are you doing here?' He walked over and stood next to his mother.

'I have to talk to you Malfoy. And you may want to contact your lawyer. But I assume someone else can do that while I have a word with you.'

'Why does my son need a lawyer?' Her voice wasn't nearly as haughty as the last time Hermione heard her speak.

'I'll explain that to you, or he can himself after I talk to him. It would be advisable to contact your lawyer as I said and tell him you need a contract looked over.' This peeked their interest tho they showed no outward sign of it. Hermione looked at Draco. 'In less your not interested in hearing what I have to say.'

'I'm far to curious what would make you come here to not hear the reason. I'm assuming you'd like to go somewhere else?' He raised his eyebrow at her.

'Lead the way.'

Narcissa went to talk to her husband, and the trio made there was down the hall. After about five twists and turns they ended up in the outside of a much smaller, less fancy sitting room. The walls were lined with books. Hermione liked this room.

'George why don't you stay out here while I talk to Malfoy.' He gave he a look saying very clearly that he did not think that was a good idea. 'I'll call if I need you.' Draco snorted. But followed her into the room and shut the door behind him. Hermione took a moment to look around and gather her bearings. While Draco took a moment to look over Hermione, she was always pretty- tho he would never say so out loud, but she was much more beautiful than he remembered. The fire had left her eyes, she had the dead eyes of a person who had seen more than they could handle.

'So what would bring the perfect Hermione Granger, back to the scene that must haunt her nightmares, to talk to a Death Eater?' Hermione didn't bother to look at him she was reading the spines of the books at eye level.

'Don't assume to know what haunts my nightmares Malfoy.' She turned to look at him. 'I'm here to talk to you about Azkaban.'

'If you want to know about Azkaban I could try and send you a postcard. I'll be there for the foreseeable future.'

'Well that's actually what I'm here for, your trial has been canceled.' He studied her face looking for any trace of a lie. 'You will be monitored for one year to prove your not dangerous to the public. You can do that in Azkaban or you can come with me.' Hope flashed across his features.

'Are you saying you want to spend a year with me Granger?' He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She shot him a scathing look.

'Don't worry Malfoy a time will never come when I'll try to convince you to taint your precious bloodline. If you would rather go to Azkaban than spend a year in my company be my guest. This wasn't my idea and I'd rather not have to babysit you for the next year.'

'Where is this coming from? Why was the trial canceled, and why do I have an option? Just last week the family lawyers said I would be lucky if they can get me off with only serving five years in Azkaban.'

'Some bleeding heart Gryffindor wrote a letter on your behalf to the Wizengamot.' Draco looked at her incredulously.

'You? Why would you do that?'

'That's not really the point. It's up to you what you decide to do, but if you're going to be coming with me there is some information you must know.'

'Of course I'd rather not go to Azkaban, even if that means spending a year with you.'

'You may be safer in Azkaban, how much do you know about fairies?'

Hermione told him about the situation she found herself in. And her father- the war that was going on, she also told him she was leaving in two days to help protect her great-niece, which means she will be living in the muggle world in America. She explained that she would be a target and that staying with her would put him in danger. Draco listened without saying a word, but he looked thoughtful.

'Let me get this straight Granger, you are the daughter of the fairy Prince. Who is currently waging a war against another fairy over blood purity, and I can go with you and be dragged into another war or I can spend a year in Azkaban.'

'Yes, if you come with me you will have to sign this contract.' She took out the scroll and handed it to him.

'Mother should have the lawyers here by now, lets take this to them. I'd also like to talk to my parents.'

Draco was right when he, Hermione, and George entered the dining room four men were sitting talking to Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy. Lucius caught her eye, and Hermione was filled with a surge of pure hatred and fury. There he was bold as brass, the once right hand man of Voldemort- breathing like he had any right to do so. She lost control of her magic- pictures started shaking on the walls, the crystal vases exploded around the room sending flower petals everywhere. A wall of floor to ceiling windows all shattered. Everyone looked shocked and slightly terrified.

'Hermione, you have to calm down.' George grabbed her hand as she took several deep breaths trying to see through the fury that tinted her vision red.

Draco feeling the waves of magic coming off Hermione calm down spoke before she could blow up the manor. He told them about Hermione writing a statement on his behalf, repeated the options he was given and handed the contract to the lawyers. He went on telling about the fairy war and how it was unlikely that Hermione would be left out of it since her father is the Prince. Everyone was surprised to hear she was a Princess of the fea. His mother looked worried, his father showed no emotion at all, this didn't surprise anyone in the room.

'Why are you willing to do this Ms. Granger?' Narcissa found the girl curious, why would she want to help someone she obviously hated. Hermione didn't even look at Narcissa when she addressed her.

'It's what Harry would've done, and Dumbledore.'

'Of course precious Potter.' Draco scoffed,. Hermione was on her feet with her wand less than an inch away from his face before anyone could blink. Narcissa closed her eyes at her sons stupidity.  
'Remember this Malfoy the deal is entirely reliant on my good will. I think you're scum that comes from a long line of scum if you say one word against Harry I'll be sending you to your mommy and daddy's cell in pieces! I think after everything I've earned a get out of jail free card, so disrespect him one more time and I'll use it on you.' Draco swallowed, she was terrifying when she was angry. Lucius wanted to tell her to lower her wand, he could feel her magic spiking, but he knew that drawing attention to himself at that moment would only do more harm.

'Fine, just lower your wand before you singe my eyebrows Granger.' George was having a good time watching everything play out. He had to bite his tongue near bleeding to stop from laughing when she called him 'scum from a long line of scum,' right in front of his parents, their faces were priceless.

'What do you think of the contract?' Narcissa turned to the lawyers choosing to ignore Hermiones outburst. She still couldn't believe Draco would be foolish enough to say such a thing in front of Hermione Granger.

'It's fairly straight forward. He will be released into Ms. Granger, or er Ms. Brigant's custody for the span of one year, if he proves himself not to be a danger all charges will be dropped against him, and he will not stand trial. It states if he should use magic against her, talk to the press about her, or try to flee her custody he will be sent straight to Azkaban. Once the contract is signed neither can change their minds in less Ms. Brigant feels threatened in anyway.'

'What do you think Lucius?' Narcissa didn't look convinced this was a good idea. Everyone besides the lawyers saw Hermione's fist clench in till her knuckles were white when Narcissa said his name.

'I think it would be wise for Draco to accept the deal.' Narcissa nodded.

'Fine where do I sign?' Draco picked up a quill and walked around the large table. Once he signed he looked to Hermione wondering if she would change her mind. She walked around the long way so she Didn't have to go near the other Malfoy's when she took the quill George spoke up.

'Hermione are you sure you want to do this? Making deals with devils hardly ever turns out good.'

'George, you know full well my reason's.' She signed her name, and couldn't help but agree- she did feel like she just made a deal with the devil. 'Be ready by ten the day after tomorrow someone will come pick you up. Kingsley will be releasing a small amount of Malfoy gold for you take with you. Pack for a long stay we will not be returning to this _house_.' She said it like it was something vile, which is exactly what Hermione thought it was.


	7. Please I Love You

On the one month anniversary of the battle Hermione locked herself away all day. She did nothing but cry and listen to music that would make even Gilderoy Lockhart- who was his own true love, want to Avada himself. By noon she couldn't take it anymore and drank a vile of dreamless sleep potion for the first time since the day of the battle. She was all packed to leave the next morning. So she slept, she slept for eleven hours, and when she woke she was still tired. There was something she had to do, and she figured now would be a good time. She didn't bother with the glamour, she didn't want to hide where she was going. Besides everyone now knew she was 'The Lost Fairy Princess,' as the Prophet had dubbed her. After putting a black cloak on she took her wand and made her way out of the Burrow.

When she arrived in Hogsmeade she was appalled to see people celebrating in the streets. She wanted to curse each and everyone of them, but she just pulled her hood further down her face. She made her way- for the first time, to the memorial graveyard on the outskirts of the small village. Each step she took closer got harder, her whole body was fighting against her. The day of the funerals Molly told her Fred, Ginny, Ron, and Harry were all in the first row on the east side. Thats where Hermione was willing her legs to take her. She came to Fred first and conjured magenta roses for him to add to the other flowers and joke items that must've been added earlier.  
'Hello Fred, I just wanted to tell you I miss you dearly. George is doing much better- I promise to try to stop holding that against him. Everyone misses you, but their trying to move on with their lives. I'm sure you're happy to hear that, you of all people would want them to laugh and be happy again, their well on their way.' She put her hand to her lips, ignoring the tears she felt on her skin and then pressed her fingers to his headstone.

Ginny was next. She too had many flowers and items left for her. Hermione conjured silver roses and kneeled tracing Ginny's name with her finger. 'Hi Gin, I wish you were here, I could use some advice. I hope you aren't angry with me about Harry. Just so you know nothing happened between us in till after the fourth or fifth time Harry saw you spending hours alone with Dean on the map. He was happy that you were moving on with your life. He told me he hoped Dean could give you some much deserved happiness in such a dark time. I never meant to fall in love with him, well I suspect I loved him long before I realized but I never meant to. I wanted to thank you for giving me something I always wanted- a sister. I will treasure that gift every day. I love you little sister.' Hermione was choking out the words by the end.

She somehow made her body move. But her legs gave out when she saw Ron's name on the stone. She was sobbing on her hands and knees. She was so distracted she didn't notice the small crowd forming only feet away watching her. 'For once the know it all doesn't have words to describe something. I'm sure you would love that. Gods I miss you. Your family is doing much better, Percy still doesn't come around much. I think he blames himself for your's and Fred's deaths. He said he should have went after you instead of chasing that other Death Eater, but I saw him yesterday, he seems to be doing a little better. Bill and Fleur told us they were going to start trying to have a family, now that the war is over. You helped give them that, a future. I feel like someone stole a pivotal part of me now that your not here. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that I couldn't run after you. Harry needed me, we needed to end it. I couldn't leave him, as you know I never could. Not in fourth year when you refused to talk to each other and I helped him prepare for the Twi Wizard, not in the tent when you left, and not during the battle. That doesn't mean I didn't love you like a brother, I always have and I always will. I'd give anything to see you again. I love you.' She didn't bother trying to stand she knew her legs would never hold her. So she crawled over to Harry and laid flat on her stomach her hands grabbing the grass. She willed herself to look up.

Harry James Potter  
31 July 1980 - 2 May, 1998  
'He left us quietly, His thoughts  
unknown, But left us a memory we  
are proud to own. So treasure him  
Lord in your garden of rest, for when  
on earth he was one of the best'

Hermione screamed, she felt like a weight was pushing her into the ground, and she welcomed it. She wanted nothing more in that moment to be with him, even if it was in a coffin. The people behind her were openly sobbing watching something so soul crushing.

'Harry James Potter how dare you go where I can not follow!' She screamed at the sky and punched her hands into the ground. 'I love you, I love you so much, I can't breathe with out you. Please, please, please. I need you! Life has no meaning with you gone. Harry please.' Her strength gave out and she was lying on the ground again. She could think of no words to convey her grief. So she started to sing the song she sang to him the night before the battle. It was the last time she ever fell asleep in his arms.

It's like a storm  
That cuts a path  
It breaks your will  
It feels like that

You think you're lost  
But you're not lost on your own  
you're not alone

I will stand by you  
I will help you through  
When you've done all you can do  
If you can't cope  
I will dry your eyes  
I will fight your fight  
I will hold you tight  
And I won't let go

It hurts my heart  
To see you cry  
I know it's dark  
This part of life  
Oh it finds us all  
And we're too small  
To stop the rain  
Oh but when it rains

I will stand by you  
I will help you through  
When you've done all you can do  
And you can't cope  
I will dry your eyes  
I will fight your fight  
I will hold you tight

And I won't let you fall  
Don't be afraid to fall  
I'm right here to catch you  
I won't let you down  
It won't get you down  
you're gonna make it  
Yeah I know you can make it

Cause I will stand by you  
I will help you through  
When you've done all you can do  
And you can't cope  
And I will dry your eyes  
I will fight your fight  
I will hold you tight  
And I won't let go  
Oh I'm gonna hold you  
And I won't let go  
Won't let you go...

Minerva Mcgonagall kneeled in front of the hysterical girl she had known for so many years. But this wasn't the Hermione Granger she knew, this was a small broken girl who had seen and lost to much in her short life. She brushed the hair off of Hermione's dirty and tear stained face. Minerva ignored her own tears trying to comfort the girl in her arms, but she suspected Hermione didn't even notice. She was making small shh-ing noises, and rubbing her back. Hermione finally looked up, her expression so full of pain if Minerva wasn't already on the ground, the look on Hermione's face surly would have brought her to her knees.

'Let me take you home.' Minerva's voice quavered.

'No! He is my home, please I can't leave him here.'

'You don't belong here Hermione, there are people watching, please lets go.'

'I don't give a damn who's watching! Please just leave me here I can't leave him...' She started sobbing harder making whatever she said after unintelligible. Minerva couldn't leave her there, so she did the only thing she could. She stunned her.

'Clear out there's nothing to see here, and I expect Ms. Granger's grief will not be exploited in the next addition of the Daily Prophet. She saved us all- the least we could do is give her some privacy.' Minerva held tight to Hermione and apparated them both away to the Burrow.

Hermione woke to daylight screaming like she always did. Only this time she was on the sofa in the sitting room. Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, George, and Mcgonagall were all looking at her with somber expressions. She whipped her face free of tears.

'Hermione dear, why didn't you tell us you and Harry were together?'

'What difference does it make?' She sat up and placed her hands in her lap.

'It would've helped us understand better- to try and help you.' Mr. Weasley looked stricken.

'Yeah Herms, you could've told me.'

'You can't help me, I'm sorry but you can't. And knowing I'm in love with him won't change that.'

'You don't have to suffer alone Hermione, we all- including many members of the Order want to help you, you've done so much for us all, let us help you.' Hermione could count on one hand the amount of times Professor Mcgonagall called her by her first name, it was always at sad moments.

'Thank you, but as I said you can't help me, no one can. I have to figure it out on my own.' Hermione stood and walked to the stair case to get ready she would be leaving soon. She didn't notice Kingsley and Draco arrive, they walked into the living room confused by all the serious faces pointed in Hermione's direction.

'How serious was it? You and Harry I mean.' Georges question stopped her in her tracks on the second stair. She did't look back.

'He asked me to marry him.'


	8. Breakfast at Sookie's

Louisiana in June is, in a word- hot. With the time difference Hermione, Draco, and Kingsley arrived in front of the old farm house well before dawn. To their credit neither Kingsley, or Draco said a word about the conversation at the Weasley's. In fact Draco hadn't said a word since arriving at the Burrow. He watched the goodbyes and Mrs. Weasley cry without one snide comment. He was tempted to ask if Hermione knew her eyes were blue, or that her hair looked as soft as silk, but he figured that would be a stupid question.

'Is this where were staying then?' Hermione almost smiled at the prospect of telling a Malfoy he will be living in a tent in the woods for the foreseeable future.

'Were staying in there.' She pointed to the tree line north of the house. To her disappointment he only raised his eyebrows slightly and followed behind her.

'Do you feel that?'

'Feel what?' Draco was confused, all three had their wands lit looking for a good place to set up 'camp' when Hermione just stopped.

'Magic, a lot of it.'

'The house had magic around it, wards I'm guessing.' Draco felt no magic and was a little put out that obviously he was the only one.

'That was weak magic, I'm guessing put in place by the Earth witches that live here. This is different- strong. I think it's fairy magic.' She looked around for the source but it seemed to be coming from several different points.

'That would explain why you can feel it and I can't.' Kingsley thought for a moment. 'Your father must've done it, protection spells maybe.'

'Perhaps.'

They came across a small natural clearing not to far in, Hermione dug into the new bag she had put an extension charm on, and pulled out the tent. With a wandless wave of her hand it was set up in seconds. She stared at the little tent, it hardly looked big enough for a single person. Magic is extraordinary she thought. It looked new and nothing like the other tent Hermione had so many awful and wonderful memories in. Even still, it was all Hermione saw. Here in the woods with the tent set up, she could almost fool herself into believing Harry or Ron would poke their heads out, or emerge from the woods at any second. Sheer will power was all there was keeping her tears at bay. She took a deep steading breath.

'Malfoy you can have whichever guest room you want. I'm going to get started on the wards. In less you need me to help set up the floo.' She looked to Kingsley who smiled at her.

'I think I can manage.'

Draco and Kingsley walked into the tent as Hermione set off to start warding the area. Draco was impressed with the tent. It was nicer than most houses. The sitting room at the entrance was huge, so was the fire place. The stone walls made it cooler, and darker. It reminded him of a cheerful Slytherin common room- just larger. Yes, Draco thought he would be okay with staying here. Anything was better than staying at the Burrow, which he expected only magic and will power was holding up, or in a cell in Azkaban. He was about to go find the guest bedrooms when Kingsley stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

'A word if you will Mr. Malfoy.' Draco knew it was not a request- he could not tell the Minster of Magic no so he sighed and turned to face the man. Kingsley's face held no softness as it did when he looked at Hermione, he looked hard and unforgiving.

'What can I do for you Minster?' He tried to keep the sneer in his voice to a minium.

'Hermione is having a rough time right now, I expect you to not make it worse for her. Try and remember it is only because of her kind heart you're not going to spend the next ten years rotting in Azkaban. Also keep in mind if she comes to any harm by your hand I will find a law to ensure you receive the Dementor's kiss- if there isn't such a law I'll make one.' What Kingsley didn't understand is that Draco was still haunted by Hermione's screams that night in the manor. He could still see her writhing on the floor screaming from the Cruciatus curse his aunt cast on her over and over. He had no desire to see her in pain again. He wasn't about to explain that to Kingsley however.

'Of course Minster.' This time he didn't hold back on the sneer.

'She believes you can be a good person, I trust her judgment- but that does not mean I won't be keeping an eye on you.' Draco gave a stiff nod not knowing what to reply to his statement.

'Back at the Burrow, all the Weasley's and McGonagall looked shocked when Granger told them Potter proposed, you didn't look surprised at all- did you know?' Draco didn't know why he wanted to know, or why he even cared- but he did. Kingsley's face changed from fierce to sorrowful and he wiped his brow with the back of his hand.

'I didn't know he proposed- but a woman doesn't spend four hours rocking a dead man's body if she isn't in love with him.'

Hermione just finished the last ward- they required so much energy she was unsteady on her feet, she felt eyes on her. She spun on her heel, wand raised. It was still a good half hour in till dawn and the forest was close to pitch black but she could see the out line of a person.

'Show yourself!' She lit her wand and watched as a man about a half foot taller than her with messy black hair and sideburns walked towards her- arms raised in a surrendering gesture.

'Sorry if I startled you, it's not everyday I get to see a wand carrying witch do magic. I mean you no harm. My name is Bill Compton, I live just across the cemetery- you are Niall's daughter, Sookie has been expecting you.'

'Yes, I am Niall's daughter. So are you the vampire blood tied to my niece then?' Bill Compton's face changed from friendly and curious, to hurt and angry for just a second.

'No, that would be Eric Northman. He is the Sheriff of Area Five- which is where we are. Why is your smell not affecting me? You smell like fairy, delicious but I do not want to drink.' Hermione heard that name before but she couldn't remember where. Bill Compton looked confused.

'It's magic.' Was all she said.

'Well I will leave you now- it was a pleasure to meet you Ms. Brigant.' He gave her a little bow of respect and turned to leave.

'Hermione,' he turned to look at her again. 'Call me Hermione. it was nice to meet you as well Mr. Compton.' He smiled at her.

'Bill.'

'Bill.'

When she returned to the tent Kingsley was waiting for her in the sitting room, Draco was no where to be seen. She figured he was in the bedroom of his choosing. Hermione took the seat across from him. She actually looked at him and noticed for the first time that he looked much older since the war.

'Are you alright Hermione? You look drained.' He smiled at her, Hermione always loved his smile it was soft and fatherly.

'The wards took a lot out of me, and last night wasn't exactly restful.' Kingsley's smile dropped.

'Yes I heard about that, Minerva was very worried.' Hermione did not want to talk about her breakdown in the graveyard so she stood. Kingsley got the message and changed the subject.

'The floo is set so it can only be used to connect to the Burrow, or my office. I want you to contact me regularly and let me know how everything is working out with Draco, and the Fairies.'

'Of course, thank you for coming and doing this. I've read about floo connections, but I have never attempted it, an international connection on my first try probably would have ended in disaster.'

'It was no trouble,' he stood. 'Remember I expect to hear from you often, and I'm pretty sure Molly would flay you alive if you don't check in with her every now and then to tell her you're still eating. Take care of yourself Hermione.' She grimaced.

'Of course.' Kingsley smiled again before stepping into the floo and shouting 'Minster's office!'

Hermione fell back into one of the plush over sized chairs and waved her hand, a Hagrid sized glass of deep red Elf wine appeared on the coffee table in front of her. She took a healthy sip, smacked her lips, and closed her eyes. She willed herself not to think of _him_, and instead thought about the wards she can add to Sookie's house without offending the Earth witches that put the existing wards in place. Earth magic is practiced by 'witches' that do not have their own magical reserves. They barrow magic from the earth. They are much less powerful, and called 'muggle witches' in her world. Hermione thought that classification was very unfair, since they do have small magical cores, just not enough to have their own magic.

'It's rather early for getting drunk is it not?' She opened her eyes and looked at Draco who was leaning against the fireplace, she hadn't even heard him walk in. She shrugged at him. 'So what exactly are we going to do here?'

'I don't really know, set up wards- hope Niall kills Breandan before he comes after Sookie or me. I didn't really ask to many questions.' Draco smirked.

'That's rather unusual, I would expect you to fire off questions in till you were blue in the face.' She shrugged again. Draco took the seat Kingsley vacated, and waved his hand. A shot of fire whiskey appeared in his hand. Hermione raised her eyebrow at him.

'You brought fire whiskey with you?'

'Of course, were living in the muggle world- in a tent no less, what else is there to do but get pissed and wait for this mad man to come kill us all.' Hermione snorted. 'Why did you write the letter for me Granger?' The question had been in the forefront of his mind since her visit to the manor, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out why she would do it. He was cruel to her for years, caused Dumbledore's death, was on the losing side of the war, and watched her tortured on his drawing room floor. Yet she wrote on his behalf, and saved him from Azkaban. She looked at him very seriously.

'Did you know Harry was on the tower that night?' Malfoy looked shocked and shook his head not having to ask which night she was referring to. 'He was on a mission with Dumbledore, who was weakened by the magic they encountered. Harry was going to go get help when Madam Rosmerta found them and told them about the Dark-Mark over the school.' Hermione sighed deeply. 'They flew back and arrived only a minute before you. Dumbledore told Harry to put his cloak on to go get help, but when they heard you coming Dumbledore had just enough time to body-bind Harry before you disarmed him. Harry watched your whole conversation frozen in place, he showed me his memories. You lowered your wand, even after Voldemort threatened your family. Turns out you acted to late- the Death-Eaters burst in, and Harry had to watch his mentor die. But still you lowered your wand. And then at the manor, you knew it was us the moment you saw us. But you lied.' She looked at him curiously. 'I still don't know why, Voldemort would have redeemed your family and rewarded you beyond belief for handing Harry over. Yet you lied. Why?' Draco looked uncomfortable and thought for a long moment before answering her.

'Voldemort was insane. He claimed to care about the purity of blood, but he split pureblood as often as he did muggle, muggleborn, or halfblood- blood. He cared about nothing but gaining more power. If he won he would've destroyed the magical world- and enslaved the muggles. He had to be stopped and anyone could see Potter was the way to archive that. Or as it turns out you,' Hermione tried to push back the fury she felt at Draco talking about Harry as a means to an end. She hated that people believed she was the reason Voldemort was dead. Hermione may have dealt the final blow but Harry did everything else, he was the hero not her. She drank the rest of her wine and stood.

'I did nothing.' Draco realizing how she took what he said and sighed.

'You killed him.'

'I wouldn't have been able to if not for Harry, besides I don't even remember doing it.' This conversation was more than Hermione could handle, she turned her back to him so he wouldn't see the tears, but she couldn't conceal the rise and fall of her shoulders as she tried to breathe normally. 'Excuse me I'm going to unpack.' She walked away from him. He was regretting bringing the topic up to begin with. A person would have to have a heart of stone not to feel sorry for her, and Draco Malfoy- despite what most thought did not have a heart of stone. He thought it was cruelly ironic that countless people tried to kill Voldemort and the person that achieves the task doesn't even remember doing it.

Hermione closed the bedroom door behind her, she took several deep breaths repeating, 'get ahold of yourself.' When she calmed down she wiped her face on her sleeve and sat in a chair not far from the doorway. Her bag was in her cloak pocket, she took it out and started removing shrunken trunks labeled for which room they belong in. Next she pulled out the beaded bag- still packed from the horcrux hunt, and the plain black bag Kingsley had given her full of Harry's belongings. She held it to her heart and let just a few tears fall. She had gotten no further than unpacking the cloak, two shirts, and a old pair of socks, the only time she looked inside- before breaking down completely . She wondered- and not for the first time, how she was going to live her life with this soul crushing sadness eating her from the inside out. Would she ever be strong enough to think of his face, voice, or old socks with out feeling as if her heart was being ripped out of her chest? And what was the point of living at all if she couldn't.

She spent three hours unpacking the kitchen and library. Mrs. Weasley had given her enough food for her and Draco to survive for a month, there would be no sautéed wild mushrooms or burnt fish this time around. Three of the cupboards were set aside for potions and their ingredients. When she moved on to the library she cast a spell for the books to arrange themselves in alphabetical order. Feeling like she actually accomplished something she went to shower and change, but she felt someone out side her wards, trying to get in. Hermione ran through the tent, when she got to the sitting room Draco looked up at her from a book.

'Someone's trying to get through my wards.' With that said she ran outside, Draco went after her, not exactly sure why. If someone was here to harm her, him running out would only put him in the same danger, but he couldn't let her go alone. It was very Gryffindor of him, and he hated it.

Draco came to a stop a few steps from Hermione who was looking at three women who didn't seem to see her. 'Sookie is a telepath, you're going to have to use occlumency against her. I'm hoping that works, if it doesn't I'll find something else.' Two of the women, one an old black woman with white hair, the other a young pixie looking woman with pale skin and dark hair- had their arms raised obviously doing magic. A beautiful blond stood watching. Hermione waited to see if they could get through, but when the younger woman's arms fell, and she said 'it's no use.' Hermione stepped forward out of the protection of the wards. Draco followed putting his occlumency shield in place. The three women jumped seeing them appear out of no where only feet away.

'Hello, I'm Hermione.' Draco watched a fake smile play on her face. The blond stepped closer and smiled.

'It's sure nice to meet you Hermione, I'm Sookie. This (she pointed to the old woman) is one of my room mates Octavia Fant, and my other roomie Amelia Broadway.'

'This is my room mate; of sorts, Draco Malfoy.' Draco nodded to the women. He was about to excuse himself when Sookie spoke.

'Nice to meet you Draco, we made breakfast y'all are welcome to join us.'

'Of course, there are a few things I would like to speak to you about.' Hermione then looked to Draco to see if he would accept the invitation as well. He shrugged.

'Sure.' Amelia beamed at them.

'I would sure love to pick your brains about magic. Did you put these wards up? They are impressive.'

'Amelia they just arrived you should not start pestering them.' The older woman looked sternly at her, but Amelia's smile only wavered slightly.

'Hermione did the wards.' Draco hoped this would save him from getting his 'brain picked' which was either an odd and scary muggle saying, or some crude form of earth magic.

'Wow,' Amelia whistled, 'you did them alone?'

'Yes, I've had plenty of practice. And I have many magical books if you were interested, I'll show you later.' Amelia gave her a thousand watt smile and clapped her hands.

'I don't mean to be rude, but why can't I read you two?'

'We're using occlumency; it protects us from attacks on the mind, and apparently works on telepaths as well.' Hermione didn't want to imply that what Sookie did was an attack. She was, as far as Hermione knew- born with her gift.

Breakfast passed with the small talk people tend to have when they meet someone new. Amelia asked questions, and even Octavia couldn't stop herself asking one or two. Sookie listened to the talk about magic captivated and couldn't help but feel slightly jealous. She righted that line of thinking quickly by realizing she was weird enough as a child no need to add fuel to that fire, no matter how cool she thought magic was. Then the other shoe dropped, Hermione was chewing her eggs when Amelia spoke.

'When Sook told us you were coming I started reading up on Magical Britain it's the magical capital of the world. I guess there was this huge war that just ended, did y'all know anyone involved with that? Apparently it was won by a couple of kids, well I hear only one survived.' Hermione dropped her fork, it clattered onto her plate and she stood.

'May I use your restroom Sookie?' Sookie looked at the paling face of the girl and worried she might be sick.

'Sure it's just down the hall.' Hermione all but ran from the room. Draco looked at the idiotic girl wondering how she could be so tactless.

'Fancy a guess who that one survivor was?' They all looked at him confused and then comprehension dawned on each face. Amelia paled and bit her lip.

Hermione sat on the edge of the tub repeating her new mantra 'get ahold of yourself.' She could not fall apart every time someone mentioned the war. Somehow, someway she would have to get control over her tear ducts. She stood at looked in the mirror, there was no evidence of tears which she was happy about. The face in the mirror stared perfectly back at her. After tieing up her hair she took a breath and exited the bathroom. When she got back to the kitchen Octavia was gone, Draco was sitting with his arms crossed behind his head, Sookie was clearing the table, and Amelia looked close to tears. When she saw Hermione she jumped out of her chair.

'I'm so sorry I should've thought before I spoke it was tactless and rude.'

'It's fine, really. Sookie I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment.'

'Of course just let me wash these few dishes and you'll have my undivided attention.' Draco flicked his wand and the dishes started washing themselves.

'Handy.' She smiled at him.

Hermione followed Sookie into a bed room, it was rather small and filled with dated furniture. The curtains and bed spread were both a pale yellow with white flowers. It was to girly for Hermione's taste but it was rather quant, and charming. Sookie sat at the edge of the bed and Hermione took a chair that was beside an open bathroom door. Once seated she cast a silencing charm, Sookie looked at her curiously.

'So no one can hear us. I just wondered what you know about the whole fairy debacle. And what they know.' She nodded towards the door.

'Well I don't know much, I only just met Niall a few months back. I know there's a fairy killing people with fea blood. He seems to have Niall's half fairy son on his side- your brother, Dermot. Who looks like my brother Jason I've been told. Besides that I've just been told to keep an eye out for fairies and especially fairies that look like my brother. I have a picture, I'll show you.' Sookie stood and started rummaging through her closet. After a minute she handed Hermione a picture of a handsome man with tan skin, bond hair, and blue eyes. He looked to be about thirty in the photo.

'That's the most recent I got, it was taken a few years back but he looks the same.'

'And your room mates know about this?'

'No Niall didn't want me to tell anyone about my relationship with him.'

'I think you should tell them, thats assuming you trust them enough to know. We are both part fea connected directly to the Prince, we're probably his number one and two targets. Their in danger as long as their around us, they should be able to chose if they want to be involved.'

'I can trust them, and you're right they should be given the choice. I'll tell them- oh and before I forget Niall gave me a few things to give you.' Sookie got up and opened her bed side table pulling out a large black box, and a large manila envelope.

Hermione opened the box curiously. She sucked in a breath when she saw its contents. A beautiful white gold heart locket with a intricate 'B' engraved on the front surrounded a Celtic weave design. It was so simple yet beautiful. There were also several bracelets with different jewels but all having a charm with the same 'B' design, ear rings, and even a few rings. The contents of the box was worth a fortune. Rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and her heart clenched at the sight of emeralds. The envelope had I.D's for her and Draco with their ages marked as twenty-one. Also a berth certificate for Draco.

'Wow, their beautiful.' Sookie was looking at one of the rings, Hermione had to agree. 'Niall also wanted you to know he would arrive an hour before sunset. He wants to take you to meet Eric.'


	9. Riddles of a Broken Heart

Sookie spent twenty minutes telling Hermione about Bon Temps, and some of the supernatural problems she had encountered over the years. The story about her grandmother being killed by her brothers best friend- (who was engaged to someone Sookie was friends with for years before the woman turned her back on Sookie for dating a vampire- the vampire Hermione had met that same morning, Bill Compton) was especially sad. The vampire blood drinking werewolf witches sounded utterly insane. Sookie didn't tell Hermione her and Eric were lovers while he was under the spell that took his memory, but Hermione worked it out for herself. Hermione shuttered when Sookie told her about being attacked by the maenad, and how she had to be drained near death by vampires to get all the poison out of her blood stream. She was in the middle of telling Hermione how Pam had helped trick her into giving Eric the ceremonial knife that marked them as pledged in vampire society, when the light-bulb went off in Hermione's brain. She suddenly remembered where she had heard the name Eric Northman, or Eric the Northman. It was in her sixth year, her last year at Hogwarts. Hermione was doing an essay on vampire's- well one vampire and wrote a whole paragraph on Eric, and his childe Pam Ravenscroft. So she would be meeting the Viking Prince, she couldn't help but feel a little excited at the prospect.

'Eric is a Viking isn't he?'

'Yes, but that doesn't excuse his archaic high handedness, he tricked me into marring him. Just like he tricked me into sucking a bullet out of his chest to get some of his blood into me.' Truthfully Hermione forgot all about Sookie's knife story when she realized where she had seen his name. But she gave her a grim look and nodded agreeing with Sookie that no one should be tricked into marriage.

'I ask because I've read about him, in school.' Sookie looked shocked.

'You learned about Eric in school?' She sounded incredulous.

'Not him in particular but I came across his name while doing research. We had a class about magical creatures- vampires fall into that category.'

'What did it say about him? Eric never told me much about his past.' There was no hiding the interest in Sookie's eyes, but she didn't look like a woman in love. Hermione doubted her assessment on the Sookie and Eric situation. She had assumed- when she read of Sookie's blood tie to the vampire that she was just in denial of her feelings. Hermione could see she cared for the vampire even if she thought he was 'high handed,' but the look on her face was one Hermione would've given to one of the Weasley boys, not the look she would give Harry. She clearly loved him, but she wasn't in love with him.

'His father was chief in his village. Which made Eric kind of like a Prince, he was married to his older brother's wife, when his brother fell in battle. They had six children but I believe only four survived past their first year. His wife had died berthing their last child, and he was turned not long after. His maker is Godric the Child of Death.'

'Thats so sad.' Sookie couldn't see Eric married with children. 'Wait did you say Eric was turned by a child?'

'Not an actual child, well in todays muggle world I suppose he would've still been considered a child... in his time he was thought of as a man. He's close to three thousand years old- he's called 'the Child of Death,' because he was turned by Osiris. A very old vampire, even then- the Egyptian's thought he was the god of the afterlife, the underworld and all the dead.' Sookie and Hermione didn't realize it but they were leaning towards each other like small children telling scary stories over a flashlight. Someone knocked loudly on the front door they both jumped- Sookie yelped.

'It's only 9:30 I don't have to open the bar for a few hours still. Who ever that is they better not be bringing news of a catastrophe.' Sookie's boss Sam had to go to Texas when his mother was shot by his step father the night the two natured 'came out.' So Sookie herself was running the bar. She had been working hard and was looking forward to having a morning off. This was the first time she didn't have to go in early, and people hardly ever knocked on her door with good news.

'Well I'll just go back to the tent. Thank you for breakfast, and giving me what Niall left. I'll see you later.' Hermione gave her a small actual smile, and apparated away.

She appeared in the tree line, and walked back to the tent. Hermione was surprised to realize she was enjoying telling Sookie about Eric the Viking Prince, and Godric the Child of Death. It had been so long she forgot how it felt to talk about something that had nothing to do with the mess that is her life, or the tragedies of war. Now that she was alone the slight ease of the ache in her chest was back. Hermione sighed and felt guilty about feeling an ease in the first place.

When she returned to the tent Draco wasn't in the sitting room like she thought he would be. This was a good thing as far as Hermione was concerned. She placed the black box and envelope on the coffee table, and stared at the box. It was very beautiful- wooden, painted black, and shiny. A silver clasp held the lid closed, and the lid it's self had a beautiful leaf and vine design around the edge. Opening it slowly again the simple locket was the first thing that caught her eye, she removed it and held it in her hand... It was magical- Hermione dropped it on the floor. She had very bad experience with magical lockets. She waved her hand and it floated up to eye level. She put her hand close to it with out actually touching, and closed her eyes. It didn't feel like dark magic, it felt- like sunshine, and happiness. In Hermione's estimation this was worse than a horcrux. Niall was trying to give her a magical happy pill, and she wasn't about to swallow it. How dare he try to influence her emotions! Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe she wanted her sorrow? She knew it made her a masochist and she didn't care. She earned the sadness. One job, she had one job- keep Harry alive through what he had to do- she failed.

Everyone in the war fought for different reasons. And 'it was the right thing to do,' was usually second or third on the list. There is always something more important than the struggle between 'good' and 'evil.' For her, like most people it was for someone she loved. In first year she didn't go after the stone because a dark wizard couldn't be allowed to retain a body, she went because that wizard wanted to hurt her friend. Nothing had changed over the years. She would've fought anyways, because 'it was the right thing to do,' but she always fought for Harry. Because Voldemort would never stop hunting him. After all those years of committing herself fully she failed. Did she do everything she could have, could she have done more, or something different? Maybe if she fought against the spell harder, arrived in the Great Hall just a minute sooner she could've killed Voldemort first. Or if not she could have done what Lilly Potter did, and take the spell for him. Harry was stronger than her, always. He would have been able to live without her, she was failing miserably at living without him. Her mother told her once that two simple words had the power to haunt a person's life 'what if,' she was right.

It would be several hours before Niall arrived, so Hermione went to her room. She laid on her bed looking at the sheer curtains hanging around her. She closed her eyes and for the first time allowed herself to think of a happy memory. Her and Harry's first kiss, it was two weeks after he started sleeping next to her. He had asked her to sing for him, and of course she did- when she was finished he ran his finger tip along her jaw line, his eyes landing on her lips. It was all the encouragement Hermione needed; she pressed her lips to his. It started out hesitant and grew more and more passionate. Soon her hands were twisted in his messy hair, and his arms were around her, hands running up her back. When they broke apart they stared at each other, neither knowing what to say, and then they both laughed. She smiled and felt a tear escape the corner of her closed eyes. She clutched the bed spread and squeezed her eyelids tighter shut. She should not have thought of it. Her chest felt like it was on fire. It seems her happiest memories have the same power to destroy her as her saddest. Unbearable to remember, but the thought of forgetting was terrifying.

Hermione stood and paced the length of her bed a few times before picking up the beaded bag and opening it. This could very easily end badly, but she needed something to do and the bag from the horcrux hunt would be easier than the bag containing Harry's things. She sat on the floor beside the bed and stuck her arm in right up to the shoulder. Hermione felt around her hand landed on a wooden frame. With an effort she pulled out the painting of Phineas Nigellus- it was empty so she propped it up against the bed, and stuck her arm back in to reach around. At the very bottom she felt a small bag. Her heart started to race when she remembered what was in this bag. How could she forget?! She ripped her arm out- bag in hand and tossed the beaded bag to the floor. The small silk bag in her hand was all that mattered, she un-zipped it slowly and turned it over dropping her Timeturner in her palm. She stared at it as if it was a gift from the gods. Hermione thought it was much more than that. She could go back, fix what should have never happened. Save him. She wouldn't risk doing more, messing with time was dangerous, but the wards were down in Hogwarts the day of the battle- if she just apparated in she could kill Voldemort before he threw the killing curse. She looked different enough to risk being seen, she could even alter her appearance more. How could she not try? She had only ever used it to go back a few hours at a time, now she would have to go back a month and a day. She would have to be very precise- do the math to figure out how many times to turn the dial.

'Listen to me you stupid girl. First you are going to pick me up off the floor, and then you will write to the Headmistress to retrieve that device.' Professor Phineas Nigellus Black had returned to his frame and was now looking at Hermione with a slight sneer on his face.

'It belongs to me. It was given to me in third year.'

'For attending classes you silly bint. Not attempting to change a very important out come.'

'You don't now what you're talking about.' She picked up the painting and put it on the chair leaning it against the wall.

'I don't? So you were not thinking about using that Timeturner to go back and try to save Harry Potter?' She clutched the chain tighter in her hand.

'No, I wasn't.' She kept her face straight hiding all trace of the lie, but Phineas needed no proof he saw the way she was looking at the Timeturner. As if she had never seen anything more precious.

'Do not lie to me. Children- you're all self-absorbed, did you take into account that in order to attempt your little mission you would have to bring the most evil wizard to ever walk the earth back to life?'

Hermione didn't answer, she had realized that fact, but it wouldn't matter she would kill him. She would do it fast before he was able to kill Harry. She had so much hatred for Voldemort she was sure she could cast the spell. There was only one problem, she didn't know if after the horcrux in Harry was destroyed the connection to Voldemort was as well. If not than Harry's death weakened Voldemort before she killed him, but that shouldn't matter by that time all the horcruxs were gone the killing curse should work weather he was weakened or not. Hermione turned to Phineas missing the fact that he seemed to be just returning to the frame.

'I can do it, I know I can.' She had a very determined look on her face.

'And if you fail? What happens if Voldemort wins because you couldn't stop yourself from meddling!?' Hermione thought about it for a minute. And then her and Phineas were glaring at each other. They didn't notice Draco and professor Mcgonagall enter the room, Mcgonagall looking very hurried.

'I won't fail!'

'You don't know that. Are you willing to bet thousands of innocent lives?' Hermione didn't have to answer, it was written all over her face. She was beyond ashamed of herself but if it was a choice between thousands of strangers or Harry she knew which she would chose.

'I see, so you would let thousands die to try and save a boy destined for death.' He looked at her as if she made him sick.

'Phineas,' Mcgonagall warned, she could feel Hermione's magic coming off her in waves- filling the room.

'Shut up!' Hermione screamed and whipped her wand out pointing it at Phineas Nigellus. 'Shut up! He was not supposed to die!' Hermione sobbed. 'He was seventeen years old, and he never had a single moment of true peace in his entire life! What would you know, disgusting Slytherin you've probably never valued anything more than your pathic life! How dare you say he was destined to die, Harry is worth more than every single person that survived the battle ten times over! If I had to trade every other living person on the planet for him I would!' She was breathing hard, her hand was wrapped so tight in the chain of the Timeturner she wouldn't be surprised if she found blood on her palm. Her face was beat red but her wand was steady. And pointed directly at Phineas Nigellus. Everyone was quiet for one long moment Minerva could only see one way to get the Timeturner from Hermione short of dueling her for it. She would have to play on Hermione's love for Harry, she hated to do it. Even the thought hurt her heart but Hermione could not be allowed to go back in time. Phineas was right the risk was to great. She stepped forward.

'Could you do that to Harry?' Hermione looked at her. 'If something went wrong, if Voldemort escaped he would not stop. He would continue to kill, and torture. And Harry would take each death onto himself. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he failed and innocent people paid the price. Are you willing to trade your misery for his?' Hermione stared at her for a moment, tears rolling down her face before looking at the Timeturner in her hand.

She meant it when she said she would trade everyone on the planet if she could have Harry back. Nothing and no one was more important than him... Not even her, she could never risk causing him so much pain and guilt. 'But this is my only chance,' if she handed over the Timeturner Harry would be beyond her reach forever, it would be like losing him all over again. McGonagall had to steel herself, the look on Hermione's beautiful face brought tears to her eyes, but this had to be done.

'It's a chance you can never take.'

Her face crumpled and her wand arm fell. She held her only chance close to her heart for a moment then walked over and handed it to Mcgonagall.

'Get out, both of you. Take him with you, or he goes in the fire place.' Hermione nodded to the painting before walking into her bathroom and shutting the door.

She clapped her hands over her mouth and sobbed, she had enough time to silence the room before a wave of agony hit her, sending her to the ground. She screamed in till she thought her throat would bleed, and she was purple in the face. She had allowed herself to believe for a few precious moments that she would see him again. Hold him, touch him, and feel his kiss. But he was once again lost to her.

Draco and McGonagall looked at each other once Hermione shut the bathroom door. McGonagall felt awful for her favorite student. She knew what handing over the Timeturner meant to her, and what it had cost her.

'I set the floo so it can access my office, call me if...' but she didn't know how to finish that sentence. She looked Draco over, when his gaze fell on the bathroom door she saw pity in his eyes. Dumbledore was right, Hermione did do the right thing saving him from Azkaban. Draco gave her a nod and picked up the painting, which was making rude comments about mistreatment of property and spoiled children. He followed the Headmistress out of Hermione's bedroom.

Once Mcgonagall was gone Draco sat heavily in a chair and conjured more fire whiskey. He sighed after the burn subsided. He was stuck here- with Granger, and she was falling apart. He felt like he was on suicide watch. It wouldn't surprise him at all if she tried, all it took was one look at her to see she was drowning. He would bet his wand hand that she had thought of it more than once. What was surprising was Draco felt dread instead of glee at the idea. If you told his fourteen year old self this he would have called you mad. But she stuck up for him, with little reason to do so. And her and Potter saved his life twice the night of the battle. She was a good person, to good if you asked him. It's the same reason her torture affected him most out of all the people he saw that curse cast on. He could easily see the others as corrupted, justify that they must've done something along the line to deserve such a fate. Not her, he knew she was genuinely good. Watching her tortured was like watching a puppy repeatedly kicked. And the look on her face in that room just before she handed over the Timeturner was far worse than the look she wore in between curses on his floor. He knew there was nothing he could do, even if he wanted to help her he wouldn't know how, and she would never allow him to try.

Despite the fact that Hermione wanted to die in that moment, she couldn't. She had made a promise, and no matter how tempting it was to just break it she knew she would never be able to bring herself to do so. 'Promise me you'll live a long life Mione. I need to know you will see a time where he doesn't exist... You're too precious to sacrifice.' Then he froze her before she could say a word, to stop her from following him. She could not go against the last thing he asked of her.

There for she would have to live, and in Hermione's life tonight she would be meeting a Viking vampire. She stood and looked in the mirror. While she felt no need to dress up to go to this meeting she could not go looking like she did. Her eyes and nose were red and puffy, and her hair was a mess. She needed a bath. With a wave of her hand the magic taps turned on. The bubbles smelled like vanilla and honey. She striped down and entered the hot water, she said a small thank you to the gods for magic tubs. They fill up faster, are ten times larger, and the water stays hot longer. Then went under, she stayed under for as long as she could. When her lungs were close to bursting she came up. She stayed in the water in till her fingers pruned. Once wrapped in a large towel she cast a drying spell on her hair, and a glamour to remove any trace of puffy eyes. She went into her bed room and closed the door. The clock caught her eye and she was shocked to see the time, she only had about a half hour to get dressed. It amazed her that time passed so fast when each moment felt like an eternity.

She dressed in a pretty light blue sundress she bought at the muggle mall with George. It was strapless- tight on top in till just below the curve of her hip and then it flared to an inch above her knee. It was nothing fancy but it did have white lace trimmed around the hem. She put on flat white strap sandals and tied her hair back with a white ribbon letting her curls fall down her back- she left the few strands that fell out to frame her face. She wore no make up, just lip balm. And put a pair of the diamond studs from Niall in her ears. After tucking her wand into her cleavage she put her I.D in a white clutch with a few blood pops and walked out into the sitting room with ten minutes to spare.

Draco sucked in a breath when he saw her, she looked beautiful. Nothing gave away the fact that two hours ago she had a small mental breakdown. She was gorgeous even with the dead look in her eyes. It was the first time he seen her with out long sleeves on and the 'mudblood,' scar on her arm made him wince. 'Where are you going Granger?'

'To a vampire bar.' He snorted.

'Why?'

'The Prince wants to introduce me to the Sheriff of this area, Eric Northman. You can come if you like but Niall will be here any minute so if you want to you'd have to hurry.' He thought, and shrugged.

'Sure.' He went to change and Hermione went to get the I.D Niall had made for him.

When Niall arrived he was proud to see he could not enter through Hermione's wards she had used fairy magic, and it was strong. She walked out with the young man staying with her he had yet to meet. It would've been good if she had imprinted on the boy, they made a handsome couple, his magic is strong, and it might help with her unhappiness. But it would have happened the first time she saw him after she broke the contract un-binding her fea magic. She approached him with anger written on her beautiful face.

'Why did you give me a locket charmed to make the wearer happy?'

'Because I love you and wish for your happiness, have I done wrong?' He bent and kissed her cheek. Hermione sighed.

'You can not control my emotions. They are mine, and shape who I am.' She held out her hand and gave him the locket. 'Can you take the magic off, I do like the locket. I'm grateful for all the gifts, just don't use magic against me.' Niall smiled at his daughter.

'I can remove the spell, but I think I will just take the happiness, and leave the sun magic. You are half sky fairy after all, you should carry a piece of the sun.' He closed his palm around the heart, and handed it back to her. He then turned to face Draco, he looked him over.

'Will your friend be joining us?' Draco was surprised when Hermione didn't correct him about their 'friendship' or lack there of.

'Yes.'

A driver was waiting in the parking lot next to a four door royal blue car, he was a fairy. Niall got in the back with Hermione so Draco sat up front. Hermione wondered why they didn't just use magic. It was strange to be in a car with a fairy, a fairy prince, and Draco Malfoy- who Hermione was willing to bet had never been in a muggle car before. Niall was touching her hand, it wasn't bothering her, but she did find it strange. They arrived at 'Fangtasia' about fifteen minutes after full dark. It was a grey building with scarlet red writing on the wall. Niall walked up to the front of the line and looked a young bottle blond managing the door.

'I am here to see Eric Northman and I do not wait in line.' The young woman looked conflicted but allowed their party to pass with out so much as asking Hermione or Draco for I.D.

The inside of the bar was done in black, red, and grey. The people wore the same colors. Hermione saw a lot of black eyeliner, black nails, and red lips. Sitting on a throne on a raised dais was a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes. Blue eyes that were locked on her. She knew at once this was Eric the Viking. He looked exactly as she thought a Viking should look. Tall, with broad shoulders, and long blond hair. It was braided back and he wore a black suit. He was very handsome in a man's man way, there was nothing beautiful about him. He stood and walked over to them, the music was so loud she couldn't hear what Niall and Eric were saying to each other. Draco obviously couldn't either because he was leaning closer to the pair trying to listen. After a moment they started for a booth and Draco and Hermione followed. When they were seated Hermione put a silence bubble around them to block out the noise of the bar. Eric looked over at her with one eyebrow raised.

'Sorry, I would just like to be able to hear the reason I'm here.' He smiled at her showing some fang.

'Your magic is strong I can feel it in the air.' Hermione didn't know what to say to this. A small blond vampire dressed in black leather and looking completely put upon walked up to the booth saving her from having to say anything. Eric spoke before the small vampire could say whatever was on her mind.

'Pam you remember the Prince,' Pam gave a respectful bow to Niall. 'This beautiful little pixie is his daughter, Hermione Brigant.' Pam looked at Hermione- her fangs ran out.

'My pleasure to meet you.' She licked her lips. then she looked at Draco. 'And the boy?'

'Draco Malfoy, and you are?' Draco was leaning back in the booth looking at Pam.

'You did not do your research before coming to a meeting with my Maker Draco Malfoy? I am Pam his only childe.'

'I'm sure Hermione did enough research for both of us.' Eric and Pam looked at Hermione she was sitting next to her father who was watching everyone interact.

'Tell me little pixie what did you discover in all this research?' Eric looked amused.

'Well Viking, I must confess I did not research you before coming. But I did come across your name about a year and a half ago while writing an essay.' Eric's grin broadened and Pam rolled her eyes.

'Did you write about me Princess?'

'Yes, but before you flatter yourself to much it was only a paragraph.' Pam snorted.

'What could be so interesting that I only warrant a single paragraph?' Eric was leaning across the table closer to Hermione.

'I'll tell you, and I think you will agree. Godric, the Child of Death.' Eric laughed.

'Yes I do agree, my Maker is much more interesting than I.' Hermione reached into her clutch and took out two veela blood pops, and handed them to Eric and Pam. After smelling them to check they were actually blood they tasted them. Pam closed her eyes and moaned. Eric remained more controlled but pleasure crossed his features.

'Divine what is it?'

'Veela blood pops, they sell them in a candy store.' Hermione gave the best smile she was capable of, which wasn't saying much. Niall finally spoke before either vampires could respond.

'I am glad you are all seeming to get along. I wanted you to meet the Northman because this is his area, and because Sookie works here three nights a week. I thought if you met before hand you would feel more comfortable to join her should you feel inclined.' This was mostly the truth what Niall didn't say was he wanted to show the Northman how important she is by bringing her himself. To show she is precious to him. Eric had given his word to help protect her, and asked for a favor in return that is of great importance to him. Should he fail, the consequences would be dire. 'I will take my leave now, Dear one-' he looked at Hermione. 'The car is for you.' He put the keys along with a cell phone in front of her. Hermione didn't know what to say, it was to much. The jewels, a car, and a phone all in one day. She didn't want to offend him, but she also didn't need him to buy everything for her. Now was not the time to have that conversation tho.

'Thank you, I take it you're not driving back with us?'

'No, there is much to do. I will see you soon.' He bent and kissed her cheek before standing and nodding to Eric. A moment later he was gone. Hermione felt uncomfortable and confused, why had Niall brought her here to only stay for a few minutes? She thought they came here to dicuss the fairy problem with Eric, not to try and get her to be friendly with the vampires.

'Well, I guess we should be going then.' Hermione looked at Draco who looked disappointed.

'Surly you can stay for a little longer.'

'Yes you must stay, you can tell me what you know of my maker.' A waitress appeared out of no where.

Pam playfully asked to see Hermione's I.D when she ordered wine, Hermione pulled the card out and handed it over wondering if it would pass inspection, surly it would.

'Twenty-one.' She said out loud.

'Thats what it says.' Hermione took it back and put it away.

'And does it tell the truth?' Eric was leaning back with one arched blond brow.

'I think truth is much like beauty- all in the eye of the beholder.' Pam laughed and Eric smiled just a fraction.

Hermione drank several glasses of wine, talking to Eric about his maker. Draco was dancing with Pam. Hermione didn't know a lot about Godric, he was very elusive except when there were battles. Eric laughed and said that Godric always did love a good fight. He was impressed she knew as much information as she did. He wondered if he could get his hands on some of the books she mentioned, it would be useful to have an account on the oldest of his race. Hermione was feeling slightly drunk, and pushed her glass away. Draco and Pam came back to sit, Pams eye caught on Hermione's arm.

'Why does it say 'mudblood,' on your arm?' Eric noticed when she first arrived, he knew what that term meant, and figured the story of how it came to be carved into her arm wasn't a pleasant one. The question sobered Hermione and Draco at once.

'It's my battle scar.' Pam raised an eyebrow.

'And are you a warrior Pixie Princess?' Hermione didn't like her question or the tone she asked it in.

'I'm no ones Princess, and if I am a warrior I'm not a very good one.' Eric and Pam both saw raw pain in her eyes.

'What could've happened in your past to put such a look on your beautiful face?' Eric was interested in the little pixie witch. She was powerful, and intelligent.

'I will tell you about my past with three questions of my own Viking. What has the power to heal, or break the heart? What can bring the most battle hardened warrior to his knees? And what has made the gods weep?' Eric looked at her very seriously, Pam and Draco seemed confused.

'You lost your mate.' Hermione nodded with out correcting him on the term mate.

'How did you get that from what she said?'

'What has the power to heal, or break hearts? Well thats obviously love. What can bring a battle hardened warrior to his knees? I've only seen the loss of a mate or child do that. And what has made the gods weep? I believe she was referring to Orpheus,' he looked at Hermione who nodded. 'Eurydice was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through a meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, she stepped on a viper, dying instantly. Distraught, Orpheus played and sang so mournfully that all the deities wept. So love, death, and mourning.'

'That's my story.'


	10. FairyDust and Birthday Kisses

Almost two months had gone by, in that time Hermione put up wards around Sookie's house, the bar she works at Marlott's, and Fangtasia. Sookie should be reasonably protected while at any of them. She hadn't spent much time with Sookie, or anyone for that matter. Sookie wasn't running the bar anymore- her boss had come back just two days after Hermione arrived, but Sookie's sister in law Crystal had been murdered. No one was sure by who, the poor girl was five months pregnant, and was found crucified in the parking lot of a bar. Hermione had gone to the scene to feel for magic but there was none besides her own wards as far as she could tell. And her wards were not set off so no one tried to enter the bar. Sookie had told her Crystal was what Mrs. Weasley would call a 'scarlet woman,' but still Hermione could see she felt a loss at the girls passing. Claudine would come over twice a week to work with Hermione on her fairy magic. It wasn't very hard, she had been using magic for so many years it was easy to tap into. She just had to work on balance between the different types of magic. Amelia practically moved into the library. Octavia also like to stop by to read, Draco seemed to be everywhere Hermione turned- and even George stopped by some days. Still she spent most of her time alone.

She had taken to exploring the woods, she found a clearing that she visits often. It was where she found herself once again at sunset, instead of leaving she made a fire. The clearing wasn't beautiful. The ground was dirt with hardly any grass, there were no flowers in sight, but it felt magical here. Hermione always feels slightly stronger when shes outdoors. It's part of being half fairy, but in this clearing she felt powerful. She stared at the flame, the date was getting closer. Like a train coming down a tunnel after her, she had no chance of out running it. In two days it would be the thirty-first of July- Harry's birthday. Hermione wanted to meet those fools who made up sayings like 'time heals all wounds,' or 'it gets easier everyday.' They were blatant liars, that should experience a bat-bogey hex first hand. Hermione did not feel better everyday, she did not feel better any day. She felt worse, she was convinced she was half mental. She could barely stand to be around people, she hardly slept or ate. She wasn't breaking down into tears every ten minutes tho. Now she only cried when she sang, and she only sang for Harry- in this clearing. How she was going to make it through his birthday was a mystery to her. The thought of it caused her throat to burn. She closed her eyes. The strange power was running through her veins, but she couldn't figure out what good it was when it couldn't give her the one thing she desired. She parted her lips and sang, sang to him.

'Raindrops, Fall From, Everywhere  
I Reach Out, For You, But Your Not There  
So I Stood, Waiting, In The Dark  
With Your Picture, In My Hands  
Story Of a Broken Heart

Stay With Me  
Don't Let Me Go  
Cause I Can't Be Without You  
Just Stay With Me  
And Hold Me Close  
Because I've Built My World Around You  
And I Don't Wanna Know What's It Like Without You  
So Stay with Me  
Just Stay With Me

I'm Trying And Hoping, For The Day  
When my touch is enough  
To Take The Pain Away  
Cause I've Searched For So Long  
The Answer Is Clear  
We'll be okay if We Don't Let It Disappear

Stay With Me  
Don't let Me go  
Cause I Can't Be Without You  
Just Stay With Me  
And Hold Me Close  
Because I've Built My World Around You  
And I Don't Wanna Know What's it Like Without You  
So Stay with Me  
Just Stay With Me

I've searched my heart over  
So many many times  
No you and I, is like no stars to light the sky at night  
Our Picture Hangs Up To  
Remind Me Of The Days  
You Promised Me We'd Always Be  
And Never Go Away  
That's Why I Need You To Stay

Stay With Me  
Don't let Me go  
Cause I Can't Be Without You  
Just Stay With Me  
And Hold Me Close  
Because I've Built My World Around You  
And I Don't Wanna Know What's It Like Without You  
So Stay with Me  
Just Stay With Me..'

She looked up at the sky and let the tears run down her skin.

'It has been a long time since I was gifted with such a beautiful sight.' She knew that accent she spun and saw Eric leaning against a tree behind her.

'You see beauty in pain Viking?'

'Of curse, don't you? There is nothing more pure or beautiful than love for someone who is lost to us forever.' Hermione didn't answer him, she turned back to the fire. 'Would you sing at Fangtasia?' He walked up and stood beside her.

'No, I do not sing for entertainment.'

'Why do you sing Pixie Witch?' He was looking down at her, but she kept her eyes on the flame.

'I sing for only one man Viking, and you are not him.' She threw a leaf into the fire.

'Then sing for him, just do it on a stage at Fangtasia. Let the crowd witness the beauty of pain.' She turned to him, and she was angry.

'I am not a sideshow freak Eric! And I have no intentions of becoming one to entertain fangbangers!' He looked sightly offended, she never called him Eric.

'You would be there for the vampires, they appreciate beauty. If they are watching something they are enjoying the fangbangers will enjoy watching them. Everyone's happy.'

'Everyone but me!'

'You wouldn't be happy either way- would you?' She glared at him. 'Just try it one night you might enjoy yourself.'

'I doubt that. What are you doing here anyway?'

'I came to see Sookie she revoked my invitation.' He said it so matter of factly. Hermione realized this must be normal for them.

'Why would she do that?' Hermione looked over at him with her eyebrow arched.

'She did not like me asking her questions, she said she 'had a long day.'

'Yes, well you can be rather annoying.' He snorted.

'Careful, Pixie Witch I demand the utmost respect.'

'You can demand anything you like Viking. That doesn't mean I will oblige you.' He smiled.

'Can I walk you back?' Hermione sighed.

'Sure, I suppose so.' They walked back in silence. Once Eric got as close as he could he stopped and looked at her.

'Are you ever going to allow me past the wards?'

'I never thought of it. Why would you need past the wards?'

She wasn't trying to be rude, she actually didn't know why he would want past the wards. In truth Eric had taken a liking to the little Pixie Witch. He was starting to see it would never work with Sookie she didn't love him and she would never be changed. He would be willing to spend her human life with her but she didn't seem to want that either. Eric knew full well that Hermione would not accept him. But she would live a long time- her half brother Dermot is seven hundred years old and hardly looks middle aged. Who knows how she will feel in fifty or even a hundred years. Time was not a problem for Eric.

'What if there was an emergency? It's the responsible thing to do, I did agreed to keep you and Sookie safe. Doesn't help much if I can not get to you.'

'Give me your hand Viking.' Eric held out his hand to her. She pointed her wand at it and a gash appeared on his palm. To his credit he didn't even wince. She touched the tip of her wand to the blood and then raised her arm. She muttered a few words, and did a fancy hand movement. Eric saw a giant bubble of magic ripple. She was impressive. Hermione turned to him and healed his already healing hand. She wiped her wand on his jeans to get the blood off. He raised his eyebrow at her.

'What, it's your blood. Come on I'll show you the tent.' He followed her into the clearing and was appalled at the size of it.

'You and the boy stay here?'

'Yes, it's more spacious than it seems. Come on.'

Eric was shocked when he entered the tent. His mind didn't understand how it was posable. He looked around in wonder. Hermione recognized the look on his face it was the same one her and Harry had the first time they went into a magical tent. Her sharp intake of breath caught Eric's attention. 'This is amazing. I've never seen magic like this.' She tried to smile at him.

'Would you like me to show you around?'

And so she did, she showed him every room but Draco's. She even showed him her bathroom just to show-off her tub. He was impressed. He told her he should sell his house and buy a tent like hers. 'So will you sing then? Just one night?'

'I will agree to sing one song.' Eric smiled.

'How about the day after tomorrow, Friday will be a good night.'

'No! I can't that day.' Nothing would get her out in public on Harry's birthday. 'It will have to be the day after.' Eric looked at her concerned for a moment then nodded.

'I will see you then little Pixie Witch.'

Hermione didn't wake up screaming anymore. She still woke up gasping, but she didn't scream. She noticed it was very bright when her eyes cleared. After forcing herself out of bed she did what she did every morning. Bathe, dress, brush her teeth, and head down stairs for breakfast. Surprisingly Draco was already in the kitchen. He normally woke later than her so this was a first. While waiting for her toast to pop she poured herself some pumpkin juice. Draco looked over at her, and she thought for a moment he looked nervous.

'Would you mind if someone came here?' He watched her face, turn to confusion.

'That would depend on who you were talking about. And weather or not I think them a murderer and/or torturer.' He gave her a scathing look.

'Blaze Zabini. And he is not a murderer or torturer.' Hermione shrugged she never had a conversation with Zabini, he never called her 'mudblood.'

'I don't care- but he will have to go through the Burrow so you have to write to Mrs. Weasley and ask.' Draco scowled.

After breakfast Hermione headed over to Sookie's, the tent had everything- but a washing machine. As she was walking over she saw Sookie bending over the flower garden a man walked up to her and they started talking. When Hermione looked closer she saw the man had pointed ears. He was a fairy and now he was holding Sookie's arms and barring his teeth at her. Hermione dropped her clothes and flicked her wrist the gardening trowel flew off the ground and stuck in his rib cage. He looked down surprised before he turned to dust. Sookie and Hermione stared st the spot the fairy was standing for a long moment in shock. Then they looked at each other.

'Are you okay?' Hermione asked, she saw no injuries on Sookie but felt she should ask.

'He said he was going to kill me.'

'Well he didn't. Good thing your trowel is iron. We should call Niall. And I think I will have to extend your wards.' It would not be easy, the house was a big area as it was, but it had to be done maybe she should add dragon blood. That would enforce the wards. She had no dragon blood tho, so she would have to go to Diagon Alley.

Niall arrived a half hour later with another fairy, he to had long pale hair, and looked a great deal like Niall. He was looking at Hermione strangely. Like she was an interesting object, and he was checking for flaws. He seemed to make up his mind about her and smiled.

'You sister are spectacular. You were right my Lord, she is the best of both worlds.' Niall also smiled.

'Dear one this is my son Dillon. When I told him it was you I was coming to see he insisted on joining me.' He kissed her cheek and then did the same to Sookie.

'Hello Great-Grandfather.' Sookie smiled at the fairies.

'Hello my Sookie.'

'Ah, yes the telepath.' Dillon looked Sookie over as well, he seemed less impressed, and only gave her a nod.

Hermione and Sookie showed the fairies what remained of the fairy attacker. Hermione held the trowel for them to look at, to her surprise Niall picked it up by the edge of the handle with two fingers. He looked it over said, 'iron,' and went to pass it to Dillon- who backed away swiftly.

'Forgive me my Lord. I am not wearing my gloves.' Niall shook his head at his son. It was very dangerous to enter the human world for fairies- too much iron. They wear invisible gloves to protect themselves when they do enter this realm.

'I'm going to expand the wards, try to include the parking area.' Niall looked concernedly at his daughter.

'I will help you.' She smiled politely at the Prince.

'Thank you, but you can't. The wards are... unique. Half fairy, half witch magic bonded together, your magic would cause an unbalance.' The fairies looked highly impressed. Sookie- who didn't know how big a feat it was to intertwine the two different types of magic, just listened to the conversation.

'What did he say to you before Hermione disposed of him?'

'He asked where the 'Princess,' was.' Hermione shot Sookie an accusing look Sookie hadn't told Hermione that part. 'When I told him I didn't know no Princess. He said I would just have to do.'

'Well we always knew Breandan wanted her.' Dillon thought. 'If his followers are calling her 'Princess,' maybe he doesn't want to kill her. He's working with Dermot who is also half fea- and his other half is just plain human. She is magical on both sides. It could be he wants her for more than just to kill as a way to anger you my Lord.' Hermione thought that sounded worse than him just wanting her dead. Sadly she couldn't tell if Niall agreed.

Once the fairies left Hermione pointed her wand at the fairy dust in the gravel drive. A jet of water came out of the end washing away the last traces.

'I have to go buy dragon blood to enforce the wards. Would you like to come?'

Hermione thought she might regret asking, when she took Amelia to Diagon Ally it was like babysitting at Disneyland. But she knew today was Sookie's day off, and did't want to leave her home alone. It was almost lucky for the fairy. Octavia was at her niece's for the day, and Amelia was at work. If Hermione didn't walk out when she did Sookie would be dead. The wards didn't warn her because he didn't come into contact with them. If Hermione could come up with some kind of early warning system she would know when a threat was approaching the wards. She would have to do some research later. Sookie looked excited.

'Sure! Amelia talked my ear off for days after she went. Just let me wash up and change and I'll be ready.'  
Hermione let her do what she had to, and went back to the tent to get what she would need. She took a small purse of gold, and put a cloak with an over sized hood on. It was very light and wouldn't make her to hot. Hermione still had trouble walking around Diagon Ally with out being mobbed. When she walked out to the sitting room Sookie was sitting talking to Draco. Her blond hair was tied back, and she was wearing a pale yellow sun dress. She looked very pretty, Sookie had gotten over how amazing she thought the tent was- but Hermione still caught her looking around in wonder once in a while. Hermione was actually excited to see how she would react to Diagon Alley.

'I think I'll come along as well. Ask Mrs. Weasley in person about Blaze.'

Hermione was not thrilled with this idea. The wizarding world knew about the deal she made with Malfoy. Kingsley told her he tried to keep it quiet, but they are both 'high-profile' people and news of this nature was never going to stay quiet for long. For weeks the Prophet ran stories about, 'the Princess & the Death-Eater.' Thankfully it was still bad for business to say anything bad about 'Hermione Granger war hero.' But once or twice someone did speculate as to weather or not they were a couple. If he was seen walking down Diagon Ally her cloak would be useless. Still she didn't see how she could tell him no, so she sighed and nodded.

Sookie was terrified to use the floo. Hermione didn't blame her- it was hard to make yourself walk into flames for the first time. Hermione assured her that the green flames would not burn her, and even had Draco go first. She told her to keep her arms tucked, her knees slightly bent, and to hold her breath after she said her destination very clearly. Sookie stood taller and threw a pinch of floo powder into the flames turning them green. She took a deep breath and stepped in, the warm flames tickled as they lapped against her skin. She opened her hand and dropped the remaining floo powder yelling, 'the Burrow.' Sookie did not like floo travel. The spinning made her feel sick, her clothes got dirty, and she fell on her butt when she got to the other side. Mrs. Weasley stepped forward helping her up and casting a spell to set her to rights. Hermione arrived much more gracefully and Sookie would bet Draco did as well.

Draco explained to Mrs. Weasley that he wanted Blaze to be able to visit, and asked if he could floo to the tent from the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley had developed a soft spot for Draco Malfoy, in fact she was the only one who could muster up any sympathy when his father was sentenced to thirty years in Azkaban. His mother had received five- only because she lied for Harry to Voldemort. They may be monsters to everyone else, and even to Draco himself depending on when you asked- but they were still his parents. Mrs. Weasley agreed Blaze could use the fire, 'as long as he's a nice respectable young man.'

When they told her they were going to Diagon Alley she surprised Hermione by saying she would go along. She informed them all, very proudly- that George was having a Grand Re-Opening today. Mrs. Weasley was much more welcome than Malfoy Hermione thought, but she didn't understand why George wouldn't tell her the day he was planing to open the shop. They apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. Again Sookie discovered she did not like magical transportation. She had to sit for a moment to stop herself from getting sick. Hermione pulled her hood farther down her face, even tho it was useless- walking with with Mrs. Weasley, and Malfoy.

'Do try not to draw to much attention Malfoy.' He smirked at her.

'It's not my fault they all want a shot of my beautiful face.' She scowled at him.

Thankfully it was still early and the pub wasn't as crowed as it usually is. They managed to get through to Diagon Ally only stopping five times. As soon as the bricks started moving Sookie was enraptured. She beamed as she stepped on to the cobblestone road. Her eyes darting all around trying to take everything in at once. Hermione envied her, for her innocents when it came to magic. Sookie had never seen magic do something truly evil, like Hermione had. The worse Sookie came across was the were-witches. And not one of them had as much power as Voldemort did in his little finger. Sookie might be eleven years older than Hermione, but at the moment she was seeing through the eyes of a child. Sookie looked at all the people dressed in robes, cloaks, and even some with pointed hats. One woman had a large stuffed bird on her hat. She looked in the windows of the stores at the magical displays. She was surprised to see the amount of people wanting to, talk to, touch, or take pictures of Hermione. Hermione was polite at first but when a crowd started forming she grabbed Sookie's hand and started pulling her through the street with Draco and Mrs. Weasley just behind them. Hermione rushed through the apothecary.

With her dragons blood safely away they made their way to WWW to see George on his opening day. A line was out the door of 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.' Hermione made her way to the front with the others behind her- not caring that they were cutting the line. People would start to complain in till they saw who was trying to get by. Hermione couldn't help but notice the line was made up of almost all girls. The girls were all doing a countdown from two minutes. Hermione looked at her watch- and sure enough it was two minutes till noon. She made her way into the store and there, on a large sign hanging above the cash register were the words, 'Kiss the Birthday Boy!' and in smaller writing. 'Starting at Noon Today - Ending on Saturday at Noon, Don't Miss Your Chance!' Hermione's stomach dropped. She looked up as the countdown reached five seconds she felt nothing but dread and a small hope that what she thought was about to happen was not actually about to happen. When the count was at one Lee Jordan, who was sitting on a kind of throne drank a light golden potion. His features started to change, and his skin started to lighten. In a moment Hermione was looking at the face of Harry Potter...


	11. Happy Birthday

The crowd hushed at seeing Harry's identical twin, he even wore the same glasses as Harry. Mrs. Weasley took advantage of the hush and started screaming at George, Sookie gasped reading something from someone's mind, and Hermione's legs gave out. Someone caught her, she had no idea who. It was the least important thing at the moment. She stared, and then yelled as loud as she could. 'GET OUT! ALL OF YOU- GET OUT!' She waved her hand and the doors flew open slamming against the walls behind them. No one moved for a moment, they just stared not knowing if she was serious. 'GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!' Things started flying around the room, and exploding. Customers ran for the doors- Hermione stared at the floor in till the last moving person was gone. Mrs. Weasley, Draco, Sookie, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, George, and Lee Jordan as Harry Potter remained. Neville was the one who caught her and he was still holding most of her weight. Not that it was a burden.

Everyone's eyes were going between 'Harry,' and Hermione. She just stared at him- it took every ounce of control she contained not to jump on him, run her hands over his face, and through his hair. She wanted to kiss him- she wanted to cry, laugh, hug him to her and never let go. Tears spilled from her eyes and she pressed her palms into them. Pushing in till she was seeing red and green spots. 'It's not him, he's not real.' She didn't realize she was repeating this out loud.

So many emotions were running through her it was imposable to tell which one she would land on. She was immensely happy to look at him again, and part of her mind wasn't understanding or caring that it wasn't really him. The rational part of her was beyond furious at George and Lee. And she felt such sadness and loss from knowing that the potion would wear off- and again his face would be lost to photo's she couldn't look at, and memories she couldn't allow herself to remember.

'I'm so sorry Hermione, I didn't realize you were coming.' George sounded ashamed of himself, and Mrs. Weasley started telling him just how ashamed he should be.

Hermione looked back at 'Harry,' she released her self from Neville and took a step closer. She studied every detail of his face- just as she did the last time she looked at it. It was amazing how much detail she remembered, beauty marks and scars- just where she remembered. This 'Harry,' didn't have her Harry's eyes tho. They were the same emerald green, and the same exact shape... But they were missing Harry's understanding, they didn't have the years of experience Harry had etched into his eyes, and they were not radiating love like the last time she had looked into them. Still every person could clearly see the love and utter devotion on her face as she stared at him. Lee felt uncomfortable and raised his arms taking a step towards her.

'I'm sorry.' Lee's voice came out of Harry's lips, it made her flitch. Her mood shifted- she was hit with a wall of pure fury.

The 'throne,' Lee had been sitting on exploded. Everyone screamed and jumped avoiding the flying wood. Sookie grabbed her head and almost dropped to her knees. She had 'heard,' Draco now and then when he didn't think to block her out. But Hermione's mind had always been locked tighter than a bank vault. Sookie was glad for this, from what she picked up from Draco and George- the few times they met- Hermione's mind was no place she wanted to be, she was right. Hermione's shield fell, or crumbled would be a better word. Her thoughts were so loud, and the feelings behind them so strong that they sucked Sookie in like a black hole. She saw short flashes of memories she could't make out, but she could sense the pain behind them, tears ran from her eyes, as she choked back sobs. Luna went to her and helped her to a chair behind the counter.

Hermione not noticing or caring didn't even look at Sookie. She rounded on George and smacked him as hard as she could across the face. His eyes stung with the pain of it. And Draco rubbed his nose in remembrance.

'Hermione-' Lee stepped forward seriously concerned for his friend.

'You keep your mouth shut, that face is the only thing keeping you safe at the moment- don't ruin it with your voice! What on earth have you ever done _Lee Jordan_ to make your self worthy to wear his face?! Nothing! You had no right, it shames his memory for someone as ordinary as you to pretend to be him!' Lee shut up. She turned back to George.

'How could you?!' Hermione was livid. Every item in the shop was shaking. She punched him, kicked him, grabbed his shirt, and smacked him again and again. She was crying, and breathing very hard, but she didn't stop her attack. Mrs. Weasley and Lee were alarmed. George wrapped his arms around her and she fell into him- still banging on his chest with her fists. He was shh-ing her as she cried and screamed at him.

'I'm so sorry. I didn't think Hermione.' Hermione pushed him away harshly and laughed an insane laugh.

'You didn't think? What a bloody surprise!' She wiped her face free of tears. 'You want to sell my boyfriends lips to any trollop with a galleon to spare, because you think it would make a good profit?!' No one dare speak, the only noise was Sookie's small whimpers. Hermione's magic was crackling around them. She was like a bomb set to go off. Even Luna's dreamy look was gone. She looked back at George. Her anger lessened and turned to hurt.

'How could you do this to me? You asked, and I told you how serious it was between us. His lips were mine. His everything was mine! Just as I am his, he is mine! You put him up for sale like he meant nothing, he means everything to me! How many times do I have to lose him?! I can't survive much more...'

She walked towards George and looked him in the eyes. It killed George to see the tears on her face and the hurt and pain in her eyes knowing he put them there. 'I will never forgive you for this George Weasley.' She turned her back on him. Hermione walked over to Lee and looked at him completely devastated. She ran her hand down his cheek, more tears fell and she sobbed before running out of the store. Mrs. Weasley gave George one last sickened look, and followed after Hermione.

'Good show boys, come on Sookie. I'll take you back.' Draco walked towards Sookie but George blocked his path and sneered at him.

'Don't act like you care Malfoy. We all know what you think of Hermione.' Draco smirked and raised his eyebrows at him.

'Do you now? Well then- this is a first. A Malfoy being bested by a Weasley, I tried for years to get that look of pure devastation on her face, and you achieved it in one afternoon. You must be proud of yourself.'

Hermione's dreams were worse than normal that night. This surprised her, she didn't think her dreams could get any worse, but for the first time in over a week she woke screaming once again. It wasn't as if seeing his face reminded her he was gone, she never for a second forgot that, and it wasn't as if her memory of him was unclear, she remembered every detail. So she couldn't figure out why she felt as she did, she came to terms with the fact that his face was burned into the back of her eyelids. See saw him every time she closed her eyes, so why did seeing Lee like that make her feel this way? Of course the shock played a large part, the fact that someone she loved as a brother would betray her in such a way hurt as well, but she felt utterly devastated. She sighed heavily, the next forty-eight hours were going be much like Dante's deepest circle of hell. And it's exactly how Hermione thought it should be. The world should weep from midnight to midnight on his birthday. Every person owed him a debt, and no one knew it. Not even the wizarding world knew. She would not tell anyone about the horcruxs when she wrote her statement all she said was they were hunting dark items on Dumbledore's orders. Perhaps she should've made the whole story known- so he could be as heroic in everyone else's eyes, like he was in hers. But he never gave her permission to do that, he always said no one could know, so she would never tell a soul.

She was planing on going to the graveyard to see him at midnight, it just didn't feel like enough. Then she had an idea, she would give him a gift. Hoping out of bed, and tripping on the shoe she left in the middle of the floor- she grabbed Harry's black bag. She hadn't opened it since that first time. And she felt her stomach drop, but she had to see if what she was looking for, or seeking, was in the bag. First was clothes, she smelled each shirt- a few still smelled like him. She waved her wand at them casting a stasis spell so his smell would never fade. Then there was muggle notebooks filled with drawings and doodles. A beautiful picture of Hedwig was on the first page, when she flipped to the middle it was her face she saw, or her old face- along with her wild hair. He was truly talented, why had he never shown her these? She knew he loved to draw, she caught him all the time, but he would say 'they aren't any good,' and put them away before she could look properly. She put them aside carefully. She stacked his old school books in a corner of her room. His old Hogwarts trunk was shrunken, and when she looked inside she only found old school robes and more quidditch jersey's. She left the robes in the trunk and put the quidditch things with his other clothes. The photo book Hagrid had given him at the end of first year was in a box with loose pictures, Hermione did not look at them. Her fingers wrapped around a small ball. The snitch he caught in his first match, the one Dumbledore had left to him. When her hand closed the wings came out and started fluttering. This is what she had been looking for. She could charm it to fly around Harry's stone, no one but her would be able to remove it. But then she thought this snitch was to precious to risk. She wondered if Harry was right. Was the resurrection stone real, and had it been, or was it still in this snitch? That line of thinking was very dangerous so Hermione took out her wand and made a copy snitch. She carved a message into the gold ball, both so her words would always be around him- and so she could tell the two apart. 'For which there are no words,' in beautiful print.

Hermione hadn't cried much so she continued to look through the bag. It was like a muggle Santa's bag, and each item she pulled out was priceless in her opinion- weather it was the bag of galleons, or the wrapper from a piece of 'Drooble's Best Blowing Gum.' Next was the mokeskin bag Hagrid gave Harry at his seventeenth birthday party. It held objects retrievable only by the owner. At this Hermione did let a few tears fall. The things Harry thought were most special in the world were in this bag. She wondered if she could open it, since Harry's... not here, she should be able to. She pulled the string lose and emptied the contents carefully on the carpet in front of her. She laughed, it was mixed with tears, and it was a sad laugh, but it was a true laugh. It was just so like Harry, everyone always expected him to be spoiled because he was 'the boy who lived,' but _almost_ every thing in the bag was broken or damaged in some way. His most treasured possessions were mostly what others would consider trash. However Hermione knew what each item meant to him. The picture of her, Harry, and Ron, which was half torn and held together with spell-o-tape. A broken piece of mirror from Sirius, who he had loved like a brother and parent. And who's death Harry always believed he was completely responsible for. The broken phoenix wand that had saved his life more than once and allowed him to talk to his parents for a moment when Voldemort came back. The wand she had broken with a haywire blasting curse. She was saving Harry's life, but she still blamed herself- maybe if he had his wand during the battle... She took a deep breath. The ripped baby picture, baby Harry flying on a toy broom with- she assumed, his fathers legs chasing him. And half a letter from Lilly to Sirius. With a deep breath she forced her self to look at the last item, the ring she had seen once before. Even tho she had only seen it once, and there was a war going around her- she still remembered exactly what it looked like. It was Lilly Potters engagement ring, a platinum band with two emeralds beside a large princess cut diamond. With a single look the composure she had shattered. She clutched it in her hand and cried as she remembered his words. 'Mione when this is over will you be mine?' She had told him to ask her when they were celebrating, it was the biggest regret of her life.

Hermione lay for hours on the floor of her room surrounded by Harry's things- she was flipping the ring over in her hand, but she didn't look at it. If she looked, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from trying it on; and once you put magical engagement rings on they do not come off. The only thing giving away the fact that time was indeed passing was the darkening of the room. Still she didn't care, she didn't have anywhere to be for hours. So she stayed there, once the room was black as pitch she stood and lit her wand. It was just after ten o'clock. Hermione put the ring down on her nightstand, and went to get ready. She bathed very throughly, and when she was done she did several spells to style her hair. Finished it was in a very pretty up-do with large curls falling everywhere. She put mascara and dark brown eyeliner on, along with pink lip-gloss. Next she shimmied into a light green sheer dress with tan under tone. She looked like she was naked wrapped in see through green fabric. But she looked very pretty, and this was the only green dress she had. Hermione grabbed everything she needed, hung a black cloak over her arm, and walked out of her room wand in hand.

As soon as she opened the door her she heard voices, and laughing. It was well after eleven so this was very unusual. She walked into the sitting room slightly curious. Sitting on the sofa looking more relaxed than she had ever seen him was Draco. And in a seat across from him she could see the back of a man's head. She recognized the light mocha skin and deduced it was Zabini. When Draco saw her his mouth dropped open. Blaze seeing this turned in the direction he was looking, his mouth dropped open as well.

'Holy shit! Granger?' He looked shocked.

'Hello Zabini.' she walked closer to the fire place and put the cloak on. Her every move followed by a pair of grey, and honey brown eyes.

'You're gorgeous! no wonder Draco hasn't complained in one single letter.' She gave him a polite smile. And turned to Draco who still hadn't said a word.

'I'll be back later.' It was't as if he could lock her out, or that she would disturb him when she returned. It just seemed rude to leave without saying a word.

'Where are you going?' Her polite smile faltered.

'I have somewhere to be. Good bye, Zabini- Malfoy.' She nodded at them both and grabbed some floo powder.

The Burrow was dark and quiet. Hermione snuck out the back door without encountering anyone. She apparated to the kissing gate out side the graveyard in Godric's Hallow. She had only been there once but she still remembered her way. When she arrived once again she conjured roses for Lilly and James Potter.

'Only twenty minutes in till his birthday... It's cruel that in order for him to spend it with you he has to be away from me... Give him a proper Marauder celebration- he deserves it. I know it's selfish but I can't help but be jealous that your with him and I'm not... Don't let him be modest, he truly did save us all. I'm sure you know that, just don't let him forget. I also wanted you to know that even tho his life was always hard, he had someone who loved him fiercely. Please- please take care of him, and love him just a little extra- for me.'

She arrived at the graveyard with five minutes to spare. She walked over slowly willing her self not to break down. There were things she had to say; she didn't come here to fall apart. Even so if she blinked tears would flee her eyes. She kissed her fingers and pushed them to Fred, Ginny, and Ron's stones. She stopped before Harry and stared at his name. She couldn't stop the tears now.

'Hello love.' She knelt down and traced his name. Not caring about dirtying her dress. 'I miss you. There aren't even words to describe how much. Sometimes I'm surprised my heart can even still beat.' She turned her face and wiped her eyes. She took off her cloak and laid it down before laying and looking up at the stars.

"When he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars,  
And he will make the face of heaven so fine, That all the world will be in love with night, And pay no worship to the garish sun." She quoted Juliet like a prayer.

She was silent for a moment. Then she closed her eyes- saw his face, and started to talk. 'Everyone wants me to get better, but I don't know how. I'm so lost Harry. I'm trying to hold on to you with both hands, but I can't stop you from slipping away from me. Everyday the sun rises, and time passes, as if nothing has changed. And everyday you get further and further away. When you lose the person you love the most, the fates should at least show mercy, and give you a fast painless death. I feel like I die a little more every single day, and I don't know what to do. Please Harry tell me what to do, tell me how to go on without you, how to have one moment where I don't feel like the pain in my chest is crushing me to death. It should have been you- you should have made it. You should be turning eighteen today. I may not be able to spend your birthday with you but I do have a gift for you,' she reached into the pocket of the robe and took out the snitch. After a charm to make sure it doesn't hit mourners it was safely flying around Harry's stone never going further than two feet away. 'It says 'For which there are no words,' that pretty much describes everything I feel for you, my love, my pride, my sorrow, there have never been any words ever spoken strong enough to explain them.' She reached back into her cloak pocket. 'You may have left before I could meet you at the end of the aisle, but that does't mean I can't give you my vow... I vow to remember you always, I vow to carry you in my heart and love you every day of my life. I vow to cherish you and talk about you with love and pride, not just sorrow. And I vow to meet you on the other side. I will spend eternity loving you, and it will still not be enough.' She slid the ring on her finger and pressed her lips to the stone. 'I will love you always Harry James Potter, happy birthday.'


	12. Godric in Chains

She looked beautiful. The white sundress, with black lace overlay hung to mid thigh. Her black strap high heels were about three inches tall- she hoped she wouldn't fall and make a fool of herself. She put the emerald jewelry along with the locket from Niall on to match her ring. And a black ribbon held her hair back. Once she was ready she headed over to Sookie's, Hermione hadn't seen Sookie since WWW, and she was a little nervous. Draco explained Sookie's reaction to her shield falling. Hermione felt slightly guilty, but she had no control over it at the time. Blaze and Draco were drinking fire whiskey in the sitting room when she passed through. She waved when Blaze called her, and kept walking.

A car Hermione didn't recognize was in the parking area. She walked up to the back door hoping she wasn't interrupting. Sookie answered, and over her shoulder Hermione could see the darkest man she ever saw sitting with Octavia at the kitchen table. As she followed Sookie in the room she took in the mans appearance. He dressed much like Niall, black suit, white shirt, black tie. He looked to be in his sixties, and had ruins tattooed on his face. He stood as they approached.

'Hello my name is Luis Chambers,' He reached out and Hermione grabbed his hand, he was very magical.

'Hello, I'm Hermione.' Hermione always avoided giving a last name, never sure which to use.

'A fairy-witch hybrid.' He looked her over very intently.

'Yes sir.' He smiled.

'Your magic is very strong.'

'As is yours.'

Amelia bounded into the room then, with a box adorning a red scarf tied in a bow; in her hands. She smiled brightly at Octavia, Hermione thought it was a smile one would give their favorite school teacher. And handed the box to the elderly woman. Octavia gave her a tearful smile.

'It's a good bye present from Sookie and me,' then she saw Hermione in the room. '-And Hermione.' She added cheerfully.

Hermione was surprised to hear the older witch was leaving, she looked over and by the stove was a suitcase. It was getting darker and Hermione had to be at Fangtasia soon, but she couldn't leave in the middle of the goodbyes, it would be rude. So she waited, she watched Sookie, Amelia, and Octavia say goodbye over and over. She listed to Octavia tell Luis stories about magical adventurers they had gone on together- and magical favors she had done for the two young women. Sookie and Amelia smiled and nodded, but Hermione could tell they were having trouble remembering half of what Octavia was saying they had done. After a last round of goodbyes, which Hermione joined in on- Octavia and Luis left. Sookie and Amelia both sighed in relief.

'Prase the gods!' Amelia breathed, Sookie looked over at her shocked.

'I didn't know Octavia was leaving.' Hermione looked at the two smiling women.

'Neither did I.' Sookie grinned.

'Are you going to Fangtasia tonight?' Sookie's smile fell.

'Yes, Eric said he needs me there.'

'Would you like me to wait and bring you my way, or are you going to drive?' Sookie turned a light shade of green.

'I'm driving, no offense but your way makes me sick.' Hermione smiled.

'It does that to everyone at first, you get used to it.'

'I gotta agree with Sook, my stomach can't take all that popping around.'

'I should be going then, I'll see you there Sookie. Bye Amelia.'

'Bye! Good luck tonight! You look really pretty!' Amelia was always so happy and full of energy- more than once Hermione wondered if she was on 'special' herbs.

'Thank you Amelia.'

'I'll be there in about an hour, Don't go on before I get there.'

Hermione wasn't nervous- in till then. It all of a sudden hit her that she would be singing in front of people. People and vampires. Why the hell had she agreed to this? She still couldn't get through a note with out crying, and now she was going to be on a stage, singing some dark song in a vampire bar probably crying her eyes out! She would never agree to anything with out throughly thinking it over again. She apparated directly into Fangtasia's store room. As Eric had told her to do. When she emerged she went straight to the bar ordering a large glass of wine- she was about to pay when Eric's voice came from behind her.

'Her drinks are on the bar tonight.' The bar tender, a pretty slender vampire nodded to Eric.

'Thank you.'

'You are welcome little Pixie.' He leered at her. 'You look breath taking.'

'That might count for something if you had to breathe.' He smiled at her.

'Very well- you look heavenly. And smell divine. I've been curious since the day we met- why is it you are not mobbed by vampires? You smell better than a full blooded fea, and yet I have no desire to drain you dry.'

'It's a spell. I read up when I learned Sookie was blood tied to a vampire. I knew of course that both magical, and fairy blood appeals to vampires, I am half and half. So I knew I would have to do something. I found a spell that- well let's just say it gives off 'don't eat me,' vibes.' He laughed then he noticed the ring on her finger. To Hermione's relief he only raised one eyebrow and didn't say a word about it.

'The Prince will be here tonight. It would be helpful if you were still here when he arrives.' His face lost all trace of playfulness.

'Why? Whats going on?' He nodded his head towards the hall leading to his office and she followed him through the bar. When they were steps from the door Pam joined them. Once inside with the door shut Hermione cast a silencing spell.

'When your father asked me to help keep you safe I asked for a favor in return. I believed my maker was taken against his will.' Hermione gasped. It would take a lot of power- or a dirty trick to capture an un willing vampire of Godric's age. 'With the new take over, I can not go searching for him. I think the new kings representative Victor Madden has something to do with it. If he does and Godric is hurt I will burn him to ash.' Eric looked deadly.

'Why can't you look for him.' Hermione wanted to get off the subject of killing, she did not doubt Eric meant what he said.

'Because you silly girl, Victor is looking for any reason to kill Eric. Him disappearing for days at a time to search out Godric would mean he would not be here, earing and working for the king. If they knew Eric was searching for Godric- and they didn't take him, they would think it was a power play of some sort. And if they did take him and knew Eric was searching for him they might get desperate and try to kill Godric.'

'Okay, so you asked Niall to find him as payment for protecting me- if I should need it.'

'Yes, the Prince called to tell me found my maker, he will come tell me the details before the bar closes. I also have a meeting with Victor tonight.'

'The meeting you want Sookie here for.' It wasn't a question. Eric nodded.

'Victor always has humans with him. It is very unlikely Victor would have told his humans anything concerning my maker- if he is involved- but just in case I need Sookie here.' Hermione thought.

'Is there any way you could get Victor in here alone?' Eric looked thoughtful.

'Perhaps, what do you have in mind Pixie Witch?'

'Well Viking, if he were alone I could enter his mind; shift through his memories. And when I'm done erase any memory of my doing so. If you can get him alone I can find out if he took Godric.' Eric smiled widely at her.

'You are terrifying.' He laughed. Pam shared this line of thinking, she had no idea the witch could enter vampire minds. She was worried what else the little hybrid could do.

Sookie arrived as Hermione was finishing her second glass of wine. She joined Hermione at the bar, every vampire in the room was watching them. Hermione was obviously nervous, she watched her bite her lip and wring her hands. Sookie smiled, it was easy to forget Hermione was so young. She was always so sad, and serious. Sookie never even saw an actual smile on her face, or heard her laugh. She had never thought of her as a teenage girl before. But that is exactly what Hermione was in that moment, a very nervous seventeen year old girl. There she sat- a girl who fought in a war, who is highly magical, and unbelievably beautiful- yet she was scared to sing in front of a crowd.

'You're gonna do just fine.' Sookie patted her hand she saw the ring on her left hand. Hermione looked like she might be sick, and didn't even notice Sookie's observation.

'I don't think I can do this.' She whispered seriously.

'Sure ya can, just picture them all in their under-things. That's what my gran told me before my high school talent show. Didn't work worth a damn, but you know what did? Picturing no one at all. Close your eyes, or stand in front of one of the lights- blind yourself so you can't see the crowd.' Hermione gave her a small smile, that looked an awful lot like a grimace.

'I'll try that.'

'What are you gonna sing anyway?'

'Well Eric gave me a list of songs, but I didn't know any of them- so I picked my own song.' Sookie snorted.

'I'm sure Eric will love that you didn't pick one of the designated songs.' She replied sarcastically.

'I don't care if Eric likes it or not. I already told him- I don't sing for him. And I don't sing what he tells me to. I did take into account that this is a fangbanger and tourist bar, and both are expecting dark music as surly as their expecting black leather and nail polish.' She rolled her eyes at the silly muggles.

'You're not wearing black leather or nail polish.' Sookie pointed out.

'Yes well thats different than walking in and singing Mandy More.'

'Good to hear little pixie.' Eric walked up to the two, and gave Sookie a kiss on the cheek. She moved away from him after that. 'Victor will be here in moments, Sookie join me, pixie if you're ready..' Hermione grimaced again. 'You are nervous. Do not be- you sing beautifully. When you are done, you may join us, or wait at the bar the choice is yours.'

Hermione finished her drink, watching Eric and Sookie head to a booth near the dance floor. They did make a handsome couple. It was too bad Hermione believed another man had Sookie's heart, she wondered how Eric didn't see it- or maybe he did. She went to the ladies room and looked herself over, after fixing a few fly away hairs, she headed to the DJ to tell him to prepare her microphone, and ask when he would be ready. She waited for the song currently playing to finish, just as it was ending a group came through the door. Being led by a very handsome and cheerful looking vampire. He had two other vampires with him, and two humans. She assumed this was Victor Madden. Hermione studied him, he didn't look 'evil.' Then again she saw what Voldemort looked like before he went snake faced- he was gorgeous there was no denying that. People should be as ugly as their intentions she decided. The DJ gave her the signal and she walked on to the little stage. The lack of music got the crowds attention, and everyone turned to watch her as she walked up to the standing microphone. She nodded, and the music started.

'I have nothing left to give  
I have found the perfect end  
You were made to make it hurt  
Disappear into the dirt  
Carry me to heaven's arms  
Light the way and let me go  
Take the time to take my breath  
I will end where I began

And I will find the enemy within  
Cause I can feel it crawl beneath my skin

Dear Agony  
Just let go of me  
Suffer slowly  
Is this the way it's gotta be?  
Dear Agony'

Eric watched every vampire in the room stare at the pixie- and most of the fangbangers as well. She was spectacular. Beyond beautiful, with her sweet voice singing such painful words. It wasn't just her voice either, watching the emotions run across her face was enchanting. She made everyone listening feel her heart break, and when her tears spilled, Eric saw one or two vampires dab away blood tears.

'Suddenly  
The lights go out  
Let forever  
Drag me down  
I will fight for one last breath  
I will fight until the end

And I will find the enemy within  
Cause I can feel it crawl beneath my skin

Dear Agony  
Just let go of me  
Suffer slowly  
Is this the way it's gotta be?  
Don't bury me  
Faceless enemy  
I'm so sorry  
Is this the way it's gotta be?  
Dear Agony

Leave me alone  
God let me go  
I'm blue and cold  
Black sky will burn  
Love pull me down  
Hate lift me up  
Just turn around  
There's nothing left'

Sookie was in tears as well, she knew some of Hermione's story from the people she met connected to Hermione. And she could tell she was singing directly to her lost love. It was sad to see such a young girl in so much pain. Sookie doubted Hermione even remembered she was in a bar full of people. The audience meant nothing to her. Sookie saw her look down at her ring, she figured it was from Harry.

'Somewhere far beyond this world  
I feel nothing anymore

Dear Agony  
Just let go of me  
Suffer slowly  
Is this the way it's gotta be?  
Don't bury me  
Faceless enemy  
I'm so sorry  
Is this the way it's gotta be?  
Dear Agony  
I feel nothing anymore...'

The music stopped Hermione was looking down, the sudden noise of clapping and whistling startled her, she remembered she was in front of a crowd and wiped her face, before she walked of stage. She went straight to the bathroom, she needed a minute. After locking a stall door she leaned against the divider separating stalls, and cried quietly. She stared at the ring and was overwhelmed by the need to to touch him. 'Get ahold of yourself,' she breathed.

'When you're done leaking and talking to yourself Eric would like you to join him and _Victor_.' She said his name like it was something gross stuck to the bottom of her five-hundred dollar shoes. Hermione walked out and looked at Pam she seemed bored. 'Fix your face before you go out there.' Hermione sneered at her.

'I don't take orders from you or Eric, so shut your moth or I won't help you at all.' Pam smiled and made a zipping motion over her mouth.

Hermione waved her hand, and all trace of tears were gone. With one last heavy sigh she followed Pam out to the bar. She did not walk over to the table Sookie, Eric, Victor, and the others were sitting at. She went to the bar and ordered more wine from the pretty vampire. After thanking her for the wine and saying such sweet things about her song Hermione walked over to Eric.

'Ah, thank you for joining us Princess.' He smiled, so he wanted the 'Princess,' fine.

'You leave me little choice when your minions follow me into the powder room. You'll do well in future to remember Viking, I do not like being summoned.' Eric smiled even wider and Victor laughed, it was such a cheerful and light sound that Hermione looked over and smiled at him. He stood and offered her his chair, before going to get another. When he returned he bent down and kissed her hand before sitting.

'Rumors of your beauty were almost criminally understated. It is a pleasure to meet you Princess.' He smile a beautiful smile.

'You are very kind, but I feel you have me at a disadvantage- you know who I am, yet I still do not even know your name.'

'I am Victor Madden, this,' he pointed to henchman number one- 'is my colleague Jose Martinez. And my other colleague,' henchman number two- 'Damon Cote.' He did not introduce the two human girls.

Jose Martinez was also a very attractive Hispanic vampire. He had black hair like Victor but shorter, and his eyes were so dark they looked black. He was very intimidating. Damon was blond with dark green eyes, he to was very handsome. Hermione wondered if there was a secret rule among vampires saying they would only turn good looking people. Hermione gave them a polite smile which Jose returned showing some fang, Damon simply nodded.

'It's a pleasure.'

'I must say Princess your performance was quite beautiful I've seen nothing to rival it in many years. You should go to Vegas my king; would make you a star.'

'I thank you and your king, but I have no desire to be a star.'

'Then why are you singing for Eric?' Hermione ground her teeth an act that did not go un noticed by the vampires, Sookie and the two 'pets' missed it however.

'I do not sing for Eric, and I never will.' Eric interrupted.

'She has made that quite plain to anyone who asks, including myself. Princess I 'summoned' you so my guest can ask a favor of you.' Hermione looked back to Victor Madden with one eyebrow arched.

'My king would like to invest in one of your fathers companies. I was just curious- when Eric told me who you were if you could set up an introduction.' He smiled his most charming smile.

'I can ask my father, but I can not predict his response. I know very little of his business arrangements truthfully. We have not been in contact for very long, but I can mention that your king would like to speak to him about a business proposition.' Victor beamed.

'Fabulous. Can I buy you a drink Princess, to celebrate the start of our friendship?' She smiled.

'Thank you, but my drinks are free tonight, and it's much more fun to waste Eric's money- don't you agree?' He laughed.

'Indeed perhaps you should order me a drink instead.'

'That is a wonderful idea.'

They all talked politely for about fifteen minutes after that, the tension between Eric and Victor getting thicker every minute. Victor would make rude comments, in such a delighted cheerful voice that it took a second to realize what he meant. Eric would answer with as few words as possible in a clipped tone. Eric told Victor he had to discuss something with him, and the two excused themselves from the table after Victor gave his guards a reassuring look. A moment later Hermione rose.

'If you would excuse me for a moment I need to visit the powder room. Sookie, ladies, would you care to join me?' The three women rose and followed Hermione into the ladies room.

Once inside Hermione locked the door and silenced the room, she then turned to the pets and stunned them. Sookie yelped in surprise.

'Don't worry their fine.' She reached into her bra and pulled out the invisibility cloak which was folded into a small square. 'Don't let anyone in the bathroom.' Hermione looked at a confused Sookie very seriously. She nodded. Hermione apparated into Eric's office under the cloak. She held her wand out and body-bound Victor just as he picked up her scent. She pulled the cloak off re folded it and stuck it in her bra. Eric watched this highly amused.

'What does Godric look like? There were never any pictures in the books I've read, how will I recognize him?' Hermione didn't have time to chat she had to get back the vampires wouldn't wait long before getting curious whats taking so long in the bathroom.

'He is medium hight, black hair, emerald green eyes.' Hermione sucked in a breath. 'And he has blue tattoo's from when he was human down both arms.' Hermione pointed her wand at Victor who's eyes were almost popping out of his head.

'Don't worry this won't hurt.' She assured him. 'Legilimens.'

Hermione went through his memories as quickly as possible, there was a _lot_ of sex- with both men and women. And Victor wasn't gentle. Also he hated Eric, everyone always talked about Eric. He thought Eric would over throw his king. Then she saw him, in an iron box lined in silver. A gorgeous teenage boy, he looked about seventeen, and his body was tied up with so many silver chains she couldn't even see the tattoo's on his arms. He wasn't awake. She dug deeper. Flashes- seven vampires going after Godric, it was fuzzy she couldn't see any of their faces. Victor must not have watched it himself, a video perhaps. Four of the vampires were dead within a second, but it was enough time for one of the others to inject him with liquid silver. Hermione gasped and fell to the floor leaving Victors mind. Eric helped her up. She pointed her wand at Victor. 'Obliviate, stupefy.'

'Just continue where you left off before I arrived.' And she apparated away not telling what she saw, knowing Victor would wake any second. She returned to the bathroom and was surprised she was only gone for ten minutes. She cast a glamour on all of them making it look like they were freshening up and woke the 'pets.' After tampering with their memories they all walked back into the bar returning to the table like old friends. Hermione was tired from using so much magic in such a short time. That was the first time she ever cast legilimens and it took a lot out of her. unfortunately this meant her occlumency shield was to much to keep up.

'Sookie put your shield up.' Hermione saw Sookie pale before her eyes fluttered and she passed out.


	13. Forever Marked

When Hermione came to she was being held bridal style in someone's arms, and there was a lot of yelling going on. She tried to remember what happened, but the last thing she could recall was walking back from the bathroom. The person holding her spoke.

'I'm taking her back to the tent.' Draco sounded angry. Why the hell was she in Draco Malfoy's arms?

'You can not, I have to talk to her.' Eric sounded just as angry.

'It doesn't look like she's going to be doing much talking.'

Was that Zabini? Hermione opened her eyes and looked around at the stand off. They were in Eric's office, he and Pam were guarding the door. Blaze was on Draco's left, and she of course was in Draco's arms. It was surprising that Draco would carry her anywhere, never mind argue with a thousand year old vampire to do so. She stiffened slightly in Draco's arms and he looked down at her with intense grey eyes.

'Can you stand?'

'Yes- I'm fine.' Draco put her legs down still holding her waist in case she should fall, when he was satisfied she would stay on her feet he let go. She looked at him with a thousand questions on her face.

'If you are well will you tell me what you saw in Madden's mind?' She turned to Eric wanting to scold him for questioning her before even offering her a glass of water. But she could not, his maker was missing- and hurt, which she was dreading telling him. Besides she had a strange, and powerful urge to save the vampire as well.

'Madden didn't take him himself. But he's been where Godric is being held.'

'Where is he being held.' Eric was barely containing his fury.

'I don't know the address. You'll have to get that from Niall, but he's in a iron box- or cell? It's lined in silver, and he is heavily chained.' He brought his fists down on his desk snapping the wood into pieces, and spilling everything that was once on top to the floor.

'How could they have taken him?! He is over two-thousand and seven-hundred years old! He is one of the oldest vampires still walking this earth, and Nevada vampires not even half my age captured him?' Hermione knew the answer to this question as well but she did not want to give it. Unfortunately Eric saw her grimace, and looked at her expectantly. She sighed.

'Seven vampires attacked him, I couldn't see their faces. I think Victor only saw a video of them capturing him because it was fuzzy. Anyway four were dead before I could blink, but one jumped on his back and injected him with... liquid silver.' Eric roared everyone in the room took a step back.

'If it was fuzzy how do you know it was Godric, or what they injected him with.' Pam tried to be a voice of reason, Eric stopped his pacing and looked at Hermione- she almost flinched at the murderous look in his eyes.

'Because Victor knew, I didn't just watch his memories, I heard his thoughts. I think the image was fuzzy because Victor didn't really care to much about the fight, or how many vampires died. But he was clearly thinking that it was Godric, and he thought it was clever to use liquid silver.' Eric growled and resumed his pacing. 'I will help you Eric.' He stopped and looked at her again, this time softer.

'Why?'

'Because she's Hermione bloody Granger that's why.' Blaze rolled his eyes. 'She has no sense of self preservation- Gryffindor's.' He scoffed. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, and he smiled at her.

'I've seen where he is being held I can apparate in and grab him.'

'Are you mad? You have no idea who these people are working with. Besides that, you want to apparate into a box with a starving three-thousand year old vampire?' Draco looked angry, and again she was surprised.

'Why do you even care Malfoy?' He schooled his features.

'If you're dead I go to Azkaban.'

'I'm sure if I die Mrs. Weasley would rally for you. Kingsley wouldn't dare tell her no- he's to smart. Anyway I have no plan to die. Which is why I was going to say we should wait for Niall and get the address. I can go check it out in the day time. Make sure there's no magic being used, pin point his location, and all exit's just in case.'

'If you can retrieve my maker I will give you anything you desire.' Eric looked very serious, and much calmer now that there was a plan in motion. She gave him a sad smile.

'The only thing I desire you can not give me Viking. I will do this because I can't leave him there after I've seen what they've done to him. You will owe me nothing.' Eric and Pam now looked surprised.

'Bloody Gryffindor's.' Blaze scoffed again.

As it turns out Hermione was only unconscious for twenty minutes. When they returned to the bar it was still crowded. Victor Madden had left Eric to attend to Hermione when she passed out. Hermione thought this was very fortunate she didn't want to have to stop Eric from killing him in front of a bar full of muggles. Sookie was at the bar looking nervous. When she saw Hermione she smiled, and looked very relieved. She walked over to join them in the wait for Niall.

He arrived an hour before closing, wearing his usual black suit, white shirt, and black tie. He kissed Hermione, and then Sookie before greeting Eric. They made their way as a group back to Eric's office. There was no small talk exchanged, as soon as the door shut and Eric saw Hermione cast a silencing spell he looked at Niall.

'What it is you have discovered Prince?'

'Your maker is being held at this address.' He handed Eric a small paper. 'It is a tattoo parlour owned by shifters here in Shreveport. He is guarded by four of them during the day, and five vampires at night. He is in an iron and silver cell in the basement. Your price is now paid Northman, I have found your greatest treasure for you, I expect you to protect mine.' Eric nodded.

'She is officially under my protection- myself and the vampires under my charge will do all in our power to protect her should she ever need it.' Niall nodded satisfied. Hermione smiled at the Prince, she was flattered he valued her enough to call her his 'greatest treasure.' Niall turned to her.

'I am sorry I can not stay. Much must be done Dear one- I hope soon we can spend more time together. I want to take you to Faerie it is your birth right.' He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. He then smiled at Sookie, and POPed away.

'Madden has shifters working for him.' Eric sounded like he was sickened by the idea.

'Well it's lucky for us he's in a public place.'

'I have heard of this tattoo parlour it is not far.' Eric was thoughtful.

'Does this mean your getting a tattoo Princess?' Pam's eyes lit up. Hermione didn't answer.

'Sookie you have tomorrow off, will you come with me?' Sookie grimaced, she did not want to be dragged into more vampire shit, but she could see no way of saying no.

'I guess so- but I am not getting tattooed, I am a Christian woman.' Hermione rolled her eyes.

One of them would have to buy time, it would've been easier if Sookie agreed. Hermione's blood would give her away if she got tattooed. She turned to Blaze. 'Will you do me a favor?' He raised his eyebrows. 'Tomorrow mourning go to WWW, George sells a product that changes the way you smell. Buy some for me.'

'Sure.' Blaze thought this a strange request. She saw his confusion.

'It will change my smell, they would know I was a fairy the second I walked inside otherwise. Make sure to ask if it will work on a person with an open wound.' Pam clapped.

'So you are getting tattooed. You should get what the blood bags call a 'tramp stamp.'

'Did you just call me a tramp Pam?' She laughed.

'Don't be silly, I can tell you're a virgin.' Hermione blushed scarlet, and refused to look at any of the males in the room. Which of course made Pam laugh harder. Hermione cleared her throat.

'Anyway I'm going to need to buy time when were there, so Sookie can read everyone, and I can feel out any magic.'

'You can feel magic?' Blaze looked impressed.

'Yes, Dumbledore taught me during the summer after fourth year.'

'Do not try to get to him before sundown. I just promised to protect you, sending you against a pack of shifters is not protecting you.'

'Tomorrow is the full moon, if I went to get him just before sundown no one will be there guarding him.' It was the best way, and Eric knew that, but if she was killed trying Niall will wage war on him. 'Besides, I can take care of four shifters if I have to.'

'She killed Voldemort.' Blaze said matter of factly. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him again.

'Who is Voldemort?' Pam asked almost laughing at the name. 'And I never would've pegged you as the type to kill Princess.' Hermione could've killed Blaze in that second.

'He took something precious from me.' Eric looked at her with understanding. Understanding that spread to the other two faces that didn't know much of Hermione's story. Pam didn't say another word.

Once home Hermione went to her room to change. She put her 'POTTER,' shirt on and small black shorts. Then she grabbed a muggle notebook and went to the kitchen. She took out the pumpkin ice-cream and a spoon and sat staring at the blank sheet of paper. She wrote a very short story about three best friends facing an evil villain, and two of them falling in love along the way. Then she went to work on translating it into runes. She had been taken with the idea when she saw Luis Chambers' face. It took little over an hour. And once she was done she split them into two columns. Her work done she burned all but the finished product. Blaze walked in wearing just sleep pants and a tee shirt.

'What are you doing?'

'Playing chess... what does it look like I'm doing?' she pointed at the ice-cream with her spoon. He grabbed a spoon of his own and joined her. Hermione didn't feel all that comfortable sharing ice-cream with him, but she didn't object.

'What's this then?' He pointed to the ruins.

'My tattoo.' He swallowed hard.

'Granger thats a lot of runes, where the hell are you going to put them on your tiny body?'

'It's twenty-two and I was thinking down both my sides- from my ribs to my hips.' She looked at him questioningly.

'Sounds mouth watering. Can I come watch?' Hermione shrugged.

'I don't care, what are you still doing here anyway? Did you move in as well?' He smiled.

'Draco is my best friend, besides it's boring being all alone in the Manor now that my mothers not there.'

'Oh?'

'She died in the war.' He took another large bite of ice-cream. Hermione looked down.

'I'm sorry, I lost my parents as well.' He waved her apology away.

'Don't worry your pretty little head about it. My mother was no prize.' But she saw sadness in his eyes. She surprised him, herself, and Draco when he walked in the room, by hugging Blaze. She then put her spoon in the sink and picked up her notebook. As she was leaving she stopped and touched Draco's arm.

'Thank you, for coming to check on me tonight.' She walked out before he could respond.

Hermione woke bright and early the next day, she bathed and dressed in lose grey sweat shorts and a white tank top. Oddly she felt anxious, and she couldn't figure out which part of the day was making her feel that way. Getting tattooed, doing reconnaissance, or rescuing Godric- perhaps all of thee above. Draco and Blaze were in the kitchen eating pancakes. Hermione knew Draco couldn't cook to save his life so it must've been Blaze who made them. She grabbed two, some pumpkin juice, and joined them.

'I got what you need from WWW this morning, and George said open wounds wont be a problem.' He put a WWW bag down in front of her.

'How the shop isn't even open yet.'

'I told Mrs. Weasley you really needed something to hide from crazy shifters. She woke George up for me, and he passed it through the floo. Easy.' Draco snorted.

'I'm sure after you told her that she woke him up in the hastiest way possible. But Mrs. Weasley must be worried now, you shouldn't have told her about the shifters.' He shrugged.

'I told her you knew what you were doing and I was going with you.' Hermione rolled her eyes. 'When are we going anyway?' Draco looked shocked.

'You're actually going?'

'Of course- I want to see how muggles do tattoo's, I hear they use needles can you imagine?'

'Well then I'm coming as well.' Hermione shrugged at him, two extra wizards could'nt hurt.

'We will have to change our appearances- Sookie's as well. We can't risk anyone connecting us to the shop after I get Godric out.'

'Eric said to wait for sundown' Draco gave her an accusing look.

'Yes well my plan is better. Besides if I wait Godric will be guarded by vampires, vampires that will know who Eric is. If he goes all of them will have to be killed, so they can't tell Victor Eric had anything to do with Godric's escape. I would rather not be involved in a blood bath if I can avoid it.'

After breakfast the unlikely trio went to Sookie's. Hermione explained why she wanted to change their appearances. Sookie agreed and was a little excited to see how Hermione would make her look. Sookie said she had to stop by the bar she works at to pick up her pay check so they would wait in till after. Hermione, Sookie, Draco, and Blaze got into Sookie's car and headed to Marlott's. Sookie assured them she would only be a few minutes. Hermione, Draco, and Blaze went to wait in the bar. Hardly anyone was there. Hermione was surprised to see a little boy no older than eight in the bar. He was talking to two younger men. After Draco, Hermione, and Blaze were seated the little boy came up to Hermione.

'Hi I'm Cote.' Hermione smiled at the adorable child.

'Hello Cote, I'm Hermione.'

'He,' Cote pointed to one of the men he was talking to before, 'said that you sing in front of vampires! Is that true?'

'Cote don't you be bothering her.' One of the waitress' scolded. She must be his mother Hermione thought.

'It's no trouble.' She assured her. 'Yes I did sing in front of vampires.' His eyes widened.

'Were you scared?'

'I was very scared to sing in front of all those people, but it worked out okay.' She smiled at him again.

'Will you sing a song for me?' Hermione's smile fell for just a second.

'Sure, what's your favorite song?' The little boy thought.

'What if you don't know the words?'

'I like all different music so I might no the words.'

'I don't have a favorite song, but my Nana always sings one song. Do you have a quarter? I know which number it is on the box.' He pointed to a jukebox in the corner.

'Cote!' The waitress scolded again. Hermione smiled at her and handed Cote a quarter. She laughed when the music started.

'Do you know the words?'

'I do, will you sing with me?' His whole face brightened and he nodded. Hermione stood and picked him up, she stood him on her chair and held his hands, dancing with him as she sang. They had the whole bars attention.

'Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell  
Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high  
Mamma's dancin' with baby on her shoulder  
The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky  
The boy could sing, knew how to move, everything  
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for

Black velvet and that little boy's smile  
Black velvet with that slow southern style  
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees  
Black velvet if you please

Up in Memphis the musics like a heat-wave  
White lightning, bound to drive you wild  
Mamma's baby's in the heart of every school girl  
"Love me tender" leaves 'em cryin' in the aisle  
The way he moved, it was a sin, so sweet and true  
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for

Black velvet and that little boy's smile  
Black velvet with that slow southern style  
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees  
Black velvet if you please

Every word of every song that he sang was for you  
In a flash he was gone, it happened so soon, what could  
You do?' One tear fell from her eyes which Cote wiped away for her.

'Black velvet and that little boy's smile  
Black velvet with that slow southern style  
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees  
Black velvet if you please

Black velvet and that little boy's smile  
Black velvet with that slow southern style  
A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees  
Black velvet if you please'

Everyone clapped for them, and Hermione held Cote's hand up as they took a bow. He was smiling so brightly it was impossible not to smile as well. Sookie was watching the two interact and she was suddenly thankful Holly brought Cote into work that day, she had never seen such a happy look on Hermione's face. Hermione was always beautiful, she was half fairy after all, but Sookie thought that smile could make any male on the planet do her bidding with out question.

'Thank you Hermione!' Cote yelled and hugged her.

'Anything for you Angel.' She kissed his cheek causing the boy to blush. Sookie walked over after Cote ran off to tell his mother all about his new friend Hermione who sings to vampires.

'If you're ready to leave your new friend I'm all set.' Sookie and Hermione smiled brightly at Cote before they left the bar.

Once on the road to Shreveport Hermione asked Sookie to pull over. They stopped on an empty back road and got out. Hermione waved her wand turning Sookie's silver car black, she then altered the numbers on the license plate. Sookie was impressed, which turned to worry when Hermione pointed her wand at Sookie's face.

'Don't worry it won't hurt, and I will change you back as soon as were finished- or if I'm to busy it will wear off as soon as you come into contact with my wards on the tent or house.' Sookie nodded.

Hermione changed Sookie as Draco and Blaze changed each other. Sookie's hair was now Weasley red, her eyes were dark green, nose slightly larger, and she was a few pounds heavier. Draco had Brown hair and tan skin when she looked at him, his eyes were also crystal blue. Blaze was as dark as Luis Chambers, his eyes no longer slanted, but they were still honey brown, and his hair was much longer and braided. Hermione turned her wand on herself. Her hair turned black and was much shorter, her eyes turned back to brown, her lips were thiner, and her cheeks looked sunken in. She pulled out her ID and changed the picture to match her face, along with all the details like birthday, and address. They all looked at each other before getting back in the car.

When they arrived Hermione ate one of the candies to alter her smell, and hoped she didn't end up smelling like dragon dung. They only lasted a hour so she put the rest in her pocket. She looked at Sookie, Draco, and Blaze.

'Okay when we get inside Sookie listen for anything to do with the basement or Godric. Malfoy, Zabini try not to talk to much, three teenagers with English accents will not go un noticed around here.' They nodded at her and they all walked inside.

'Can I help you?' A bleach blond with an ring like a bull in her nose and giant holes in her ears asked. The entire place smelled like a muggle hospital. Drawings covered the walls, and there was a glass case showing all types of body jewelry.

'I want to get a tattoo.' Hermione tried to hold back her accent.

'You got ID, you look young.' Hermione pulled the card out and handed it to her. 'It's your eighteenth birthday.' She rolled her eyes.

'Yes.'

'Okay what did you want done? A cartoon, your boyfriends name?' Hermione narrowed her eyes at the girl.

'No.' She handed her the paper with the ruins. The girl looked more impressed.

'Sorry, most people that come in on their eighteenth normally want the most ridiculous tatt's. If you have a seat I'll get Aaron he's best at symbols.' Aaron was a large man as tall as Eric, and twice as wide. He was bald and his arms were covered in tattoo's. He called Hermione back.

'Can my friends come?' He shrugged.

'Only one there isn't much room.' Hermione looked at Blaze who smiled and nodded. They made their way to the back where Aaron opened the door to a small room. There was a seat one might use in torture, a small rolling stool, and a normal chair. Blaze took the normal chair.

'Where did you want these done, how big do you want them, and what color ink do you want?'

'I want them going down my ribs to just over the curve of my hips, in black ink, and as big as you can make them as long as they all fit.' He nodded and put tracing paper over the runes. Once he did that he wrote them out by hand making them all just under an inch tall. He put the paper into a small machine and a copy came out.

'Take off your shirt and unhook your bra.'

She looked over at Zabini who smiled the broadest smile she had ever seen. But she did as she was told. She held her shirt to her chest feeling completely naked, it didn't help that Blaze was looking at her like a dog would a steak. She narrowed her eyes at him, making his smile widen. Aaron ran a muggle shaving razor down both her sides and then rubbed some deodorant on her skin, Hermione was confused. Then he pressed the copy of the runes to her sides and pulled it off slowly, leaving a faint purple outline on her skin. He arranged the torture chair so it was laying flat and directed her to lay on her side. He filled two tiny paper cups with black ink, and started putting the needle into what she assumed was the tattoo gun. He pushed a button and it made a loud buzzing noise. Hermione looked over to Blaze nervous, he looked back excited. Aaron told her to hold her arm over her head, and set to work.

It hurt. It hurt very badly, like someone was burning her down to the bone. She winced, and tried to hold as still as she could. When she was as used to it as she was going to get she closed her eyes. She felt for any magic, it was harder to do from a distance- normally she would put her hands on a spot to tell if there was magic, but she couldn't do that this time. So she concentrated harder than she ever had at detecting magic. She kept this up for an hour while Aaron worked, but she found no traces. Hermione was convinced no magic had ever been used there. When he was finally done with one side he told her to lay flat and raise her other arm. It took another hour before he was done. She felt light headed by the end. He rubbed an ointment over her skin and told her to look in the mirror. Hermione was glad to see that he did not mess even one up. And she was happy with the way they looked. She smiled at him. He taped a clear wrap over her skin and she redressed slowly. She couldn't tell if Blaze was disappointed. They followed Aaron back to the front and Hermione paid him a hundred and fifty dollars, before giving him a fifty dollar tip.

Once they were all back in the car Hermione told Sookie to drive out of the parking lot and find another empty road. She put Sookie's car and Sookie herself back to normal. Blaze and Draco fixed themselves. 'Sunset is in a little over an hour. Sookie did you hear anything useful?'

'One of the shifters is scared what is going to happen when Godric is released. He's hoping the vampires kill Godric. There is only one way into the basement, and the vampires come just after sunset. Shifters are hard to read sorry thats all I got.'

'Thats all I need to know. There is no magic in the building. Sookie you can drive home now, thank you for coming with me today. Malfoy, Zabini, at sunset will you apparate to Fangtasia and tell Eric I'm getting Godric- he will need blood. When you return to the tent go to the cupboard and get out the Blood-Replenishing potion, bring it all to my bedroom. I'll apparate in once I have him un-chained. I don't know what will happen if I try to apparate with him all bound in silver, and I don't want to find out in less it's unavoidable. I'm going to wait here for sunset I'll apparate in ten minutes before.' Sookie wished her luck and got in the car and drove off, surprisingly Draco, and Blaze waited with Hermione for the sky to darken.

**Okay so I've been sent some questions..**

**first- no this will not be a Eric/Hermione/Godric story I'm having enough trouble trying to figure out how to allow Hermione to except Godric never mind Eric as well..**

**second- I do not have this whole story pre written I write each chapter at a time and the story will change at anytime I want it to, if this happens I will update the info page..**

**third- I was told I should make it clear I don't own harry potter, true blood, SVM, or the music I use in this story... I assure you if I did I wouldn't be in my bed writing fanfiction right now..**

**and lastly- I have no idea how long this story will be, or if I'm going to go with all the happenings in SVM book 9 you'll just have to wait and see**

**anyway hope you enjoy the chapter~ Jamie**


	14. Intervention

Hermione lifted her shirt ignoring looks from Draco and Blaze. She ripped off the clear wrap, and vanished it. Then she held her wand to her skin and healed her runes. Her ribs felt much better after that, she did one last spell to remove the ointment, and fixed her shirt feeling as good as new.

'I like them, their sexy.' Blaze was staring, Draco elbowed him. 'Why do you still look like that Granger?'

'You think I should apparate in looking like myself Zabini?' She gave him a look letting him know he asked a stupid question. When the sky was getting dark she ate her last candy to change her scent. 'Make sure Eric know's not to come. I'll be back at the tent before he could get here. And make sure he brings blood, or TruBlood. Okay, I'm going I'll see you in a couple minutes.' They both looked like they didn't want to leave her, this made her smile. 'I'll be fine, go.'

She apparated into Godric's cell, and listened before moving a muscle. She heard nothing and turned to look at Godric himself. He was so very beautiful, even covered in dirt and dried blood. Hermione rushed over to him and started unwrapping the silver chains quickly, and quietly. He opened his emerald green eyes and looked at her... everything changed, the whole world shifted- she saw her future in his eyes. She knew she would do anything for him, and if someone came in trying to hurt him she knew she would kill them without question. Her heart nearly exploded it swelled with so much love. She leaned forward and touched his face, before pulling back like she had been burned.

'Fuck!' She whispered. He opened his mouth to try and speak but she told him to, 'be quiet.'

She moved as fast as she could, trying her best not to look at him, she was beyond angry. Yet she still wanted to touch his face. She scolded herself for such foolish thoughts, and told herself over and over, 'it's not real, it's just fairy magic, I will fix this.' Some how she would find a way. It's just her luck she thought, as she felt his eyes, so much like Harry's- on her. Do something nice and save someone only to have her worst fear come true and imprint. She was glad however that the imprint did not take away her love for Harry. She loved him just as much as she did ten minutes ago. Only now she loved Godric as well- for now, she reminded herself yet again. Once the last chain fell she grabbed his wrist, ignoring the gooseflesh the touch of his skin gave her and apparated into her bedroom. She levitated him onto her bed and started looking him over avoiding his face, and ignoring the fact he was shirtless. His skin was grey, the silver she thought. She wanted to hunt Victor Madden down and burn him where he stood. Her door flew open and Eric, Pam, Draco, and Blaze rushed in. Hermione had to stop herself from cursing each of them for getting to close to Godric. Draco handed her the potions she asked for. She conjured a knife and steeled herself before slicing open Godric's arm.

'What are you doing?' Eric hissed at her, she narrowed her eyes at him.

'I have to get the silver out of his blood- now shut up or leave.'

Draco and Blaze left the room not wanting to be around when the starved vampire is no longer immobile because of silver poison. Eric may have promised to keep Hermione safe but that didn't help Blaze or Draco. She put her hand over the gash and said a few words when she pulled her hand away it was covered in the silver. Hermione cast a spell vanishing it. And started looking him over again, she cast another spell to remove all the dirt and blood, his skin was losing the grey color and turning pale. So she got all the silver out. That was good she didn't think she could bare to cut him again. Pam took a step closer, and Hermione looked at her with murder in her eyes. This startled Pam and confused Eric.

'Why will you not look at me my mate? Tell me- what is your name?' His voice was cracked from being starved. Yet it still sent chills down her spine. Eric's and Pam's jaws hit the floor in shock.

'I am not your mate, now be quiet.' Eric walked closer holding up the six pack of TruBlood. He hoped that would save him from Hermione cursing him.

'He doesn't need that.' Eric was about to object, he had no idea the last time Godric fed, but then Hermione took the knife and slit her wrist. Shocking both vampires, she shoved it at his mouth. Thankfully the candy from George was still working- other wise she would have three vampires on her. She let him drink while looking away. Eric started to worry Godric would take to much.

'Hermione-' It was the first time he called her by her name since he introduced her to Pam.

'It's fine Eric,' she drank a vial of potion. 'It's Blood-Replenishing potion.' Godric pulled away for just a second.

'Hermione.' He repeated, her back stiffened- she still would not look at him.

Once he had enough he released her arm, she drank another potion and left the room after healing herself without another word. Now that he was out of danger her panic increased a hundred fold. She ran to the sitting room. Draco and Blaze looked up at her, she looked terrified, and she was muttering to herself. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!' She yelled.

'Whats wrong Granger?' They both asked at the same time she continued to talk to herself.

'Niall, I need Niall, and Kingsley- there maybe something in the Department of Mysteries.' She waved her hand and the cell phone Niall had given her flew into the room. She opened it and scrolled to his number. A woman answered on the second ring. 'I need the Prince.'

'Who's calling?'

'His daughter.' She was getting impatient.

'Can I have him call you back?'

'No! I need him now! Tell him to come here, it's an emergency.' She hung up on the woman and walked to the fire place, she threw a pinch of floo powder in and kneeled sticking her head in the flames. 'Minster's office! Kingsley! Kingsley! Oh thank the gods- I need you here! No now!' She backed out of the flames and started pacing, by this point Draco and Blaze were seriously alarmed. Draco walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders to stop her pacing.

'What's going on Granger?'

'Draco! Of course! You were probably read Dark Arts book's as bed time stories!' Before she could make her point Kingsley came out of the fire looking very worried.

'Hermione what is it? Whats wrong?!'

'Kingsley is there anything in the DoM about breaking imprints?' Realization dawned on all their faces. 'There's a room containing pure love- surly someone has done some research along the way! There must be something- anything!' Her eye's were pleading with him.

'I'm sorry Hermione but no..' Before she could tell him he must be mistaken, or he could finish his sentence, Niall arrived.

'What is it Dear one?' He looked at his distressed daughter.

'There has to be away to break it please, old magic- fairy magic- any kind of magic.' Niall was confused.

'What are you talking about child?' Sookie walked in the front door as Eric, Pam, and a healthy looking Godric came from her bedroom.

'An imprint please! There has to be a way!' She dropped to her knees in front of her father. 'There has to be a way to break it, please, please, please!' Niall rubbed her head.

'You know there is not. Besides do you realize how Dark a spell would have to be to break an imprint?'

'I don't care! I don't care what kind of magic it is!' Draco, Blaze and Kingsley, who had known Hermione for years could not believe they just heard her say such a thing.

'You don't mean that Hermione, you would never use the Dark Arts.' She ignored Kingsley.

'Blood magic then, their's a spell to break a blood bond between a vampire and a human. That might work.' Sookie looked up.

'A blood bond is nothing compared to a imprint and you know it child. An imprint is true love, it can not be broken.' Hermione stood turning her back on all of them, she had to think.

'Besides Blood Magic is illegal.' She looked back at Kingsley.

'I don't care if it's illegal- if it works you can put me in Azkaban for as long as you like!'

'If you wish it I will walk into the sun.' She stopped mid pace, and turned to look at him.

'Godric-' Eric was stiff.

'For her happiness I would do anything- she is my mate Eric.' Eric nodded at him and turned pleading eyes to a very pale Hermione. She felt like her knees would give out, she sucked in a breath, him dying was unthinkable.

'I don't understand how she is resisting. I've never seen anything like it.' Niall was confused it was nearly impossible to separate a newly imprinted fairy from their imprint.

'No offense sir, but you've never met a fairy with Gryffindor stubbornness before.' She shot Blaze a look that would have him in the ground if looks could kill.

Godric walked up to her ignoring them all. He looked at her, and was saddened by the desperation and pain on her face. He had waited almost three thousand years for her, and all she wanted was a way to get away from him. Even tho she saved him.

'Is it your wish my love?'

He tried to touch her but she moved away. She looked up at him- emerald green eyes, black hair, about the same hight. It was to much she broke down, and she cried. Godric caught her and carried her to a seat, he put her down knowing she would not want him touching her any longer than necessary, he kneeled in front of her. She cried for herself, because she couldn't take anymore- She cried for Godric, and the hurt look she put on his face, she hated herself for it- She cried for Harry, for the guilt she felt at such an awful betrayal. She had just made vow's to him two days ago, and now she had love for another man. Draco walked up to her, he put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.

'Hermione, do you trust me?' He held out a flask to her. Kingsley stepped forward about to stop her from drinking whatever the Malfoy boy had in the flask, but Hermione grabbed it and drank. A moment latter she calmed.

'Calming drought?' He smiled at her.

'Mixed with fire whiskey, I knew you would need it sooner or later.' Niall took a step forward.

'Dear one I'm sorry, but I must go I will check on you tomorrow.' He kissed her face and let a tear fall at the pain he felt seeing her in such a state. She nodded and looked back to Godric, again she felt love, sorrow, pain, and guilt.

'I don't want you anywhere near the sun.' Eric relaxed.

'It's the only way to break the connection.' She closed her eyes.

'Promise me, promise me you will never willingly meet the sun.'

'But-'

'No, it's not that I don't want you as a mate. I'm sure you would be a wonderful mate- or imprint- or whatever. But I already have a soul mate, a soul mate I have loved since I was a child, and he can not be replaced. I'm sorry, and I don't want you to come to any harm, but he is my whole life. He is my everything.' Godric closed his eyes and nodded. Hermione looked sadly at his face and reached up to touch him, but pulled away before she did. She stood and walked outside away from them all.

Fairies can POP around the world it wasn't like apparition- limited by distance. She had never tried using her Fairy magic to apparate before, but she did now, and was a little surprised to see all her limbs still attached when she arrived at the graveyard. But she gave it little thought. She ran to Harry, and wrapped herself around his stone.

'I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to I promise. It means nothing, it's just magic- it's not real, not like my love for you- nothing could ever compare to that. I promise Harry I will never replace you- nothing could ever replace you. You are everything and I will mourn you everyday I have left. It's you and me Harry, like always.' She laid there for hours before she fell asleep.

Hermione woke to someone nudging her ribs, she felt damp and cold. When she opened her eyes she realized she was outside. She looked up at the frowning face of Minerva McGonagall. Hermione rubbed her eyes and sat up, it was the first time she didn't have nightmares since the war. She silently thanked Harry for keeping them at bay.

'Ms. Granger. Do you realize people are looking for you? Have been for hours, and here you are sleeping in a graveyard. Anyone could have found you! Death-Eaters are still out there Ms. Granger and you are the person they would like to capture most of all.' Hermione gave her a look clearly stating she didn't care about any of what her old professor had said. 'You may not care, but I assure you others do. You can not put yourself in such danger. Now get up and go home.' Hermione did as she was told without ever speaking a word.

When she arrived in her bedroom she looked at the sheets. They were still bloody and dirty. Godric's blood, anger shot through her. She heard voices, and walked to the door very quietly.

'Who's the bloke she imprinted on anyway? All I know is he's a vampire.' - George

'His name is Godric, he's like three thousand years old.' - Blaze

'He's the same hight as Potter, has the same eye and hair color as well.' - Draco

'No wonder she imprinted on him.'

She closed the door not wanting to hear anymore. She warded her room and stripped down to her panties. Then she went back to bed, where she stayed for two days. Someone tried taking the wards around her room down three times during those two days- they failed. Hermione didn't move from her bed except to use the bathroom. It came as a surprise when she felt a fairy trying to take down the wards outside the tent. She ran out of her room holding her wand, forgetting the fact that she was only wearing a bra and very small panties. When she came to the sitting room she stopped dead in her tracks. Sitting calmly was Mr. & Mrs. Weasley, George, Sookie, Draco, Blaze, McGonagall, Dumbledore's portrait, Eric, Pam, and Godric. When she saw him she had to force herself not to go to him, not to touch him, not to kiss him.

'Delicious.' Pam's fangs were out, reminding Hermione she was nearly naked. She tried covering herself but her hands were to small. She waved her hand and clothes flew out to her. She grabbed them and pulled the 'POTTER' shirt over her head and put shorts on quickly.

'A fairy is trying to undo my wards.'

'That would be me Dear one.' Hermione turned and saw Niall.

'Hermione Granger when did you get muggle tattoo's?!' Mrs. Weasley was giving her the famous stare down.

'Two days ago, maybe three-' Mrs. Weasley continued to stare making her nervous. 'I had to! Shifters were holding him in a silver cell in the basement! I had to make sure there was no magic before I apparated in to get him out.' She could not say Godric's name. 'What are you all doing here anyway?' Now Mrs. Weasley looked nervous.

'We thought it might be helpful if we all sat down and discussed your situation.' Hermione glared at Dumbledore.

'What do you mean my situation _Professor_?'

'You are angry with me.' Dumbledore studied her with those creepy blue eyes that could read a person's very soul.

'I respect you, you were a wonderful Headmaster.' She sound stiff even to her own ears.

'That is not what I asked,' now Hermione was getting annoyed.

'Is this an intervention?' No one answered, which was answer enough to Hermione. She laughed. 'What exactly are you trying to achieve?'

'We just want to know what's going on inside your head Herms. We want to help.' George looked scared to address her.

'You want to help me when you're not betraying me George! Thats what you all want, to see inside my head?' She turned on Sookie, 'You want to see what's going on in my head as well Sookie?!' Sookie paled.

'I'm just here for moral support.'

'And what are they doing here, she pointed to Eric and Pam?'

'Were your friends of course.'

'Don't make me laugh Pam you don't give a damn if I live or die.'

'You saved my maker, I will always consider you a friend, and I gave my word to protect you.'

'I told you Eric you owe me nothing. And I need no protecting.'

'I disagree, I think you need protection from yourself.' Mr. Weasley looked sad.

'If I was going to kill myself I would have done it months ago.'

'Hermione we would just like to sit down and listen to how your feeling with everything that has happened. Even before the war ended and Harry-'

'No! Don't finish that sentence.' She looked murderously at McGonagall.

'He's dead Granger.' She turned on Draco.

'Shut up!' She pointed her wand at him, Draco stood.

'No, he's dead, and he's never coming back.'

'In her defense he's dead to.' Blaze pointed to Godric, everyone ignored him tho.

'I said shut up!'

'No! You think this is what he died for?'

'By the gods Malfoy if you don't shut your mouth you'll be dead!'

'He would not be happy, with you living like this.' Mrs. Weasley spoke quietly. Hermione ignored her to, her wand was still pointed at Draco. She was red faced and so angry she was having trouble controlling her magic.

'If Potter loved you he would not want you to live your life in a constant state of mourning, is this how you would want him to live if he survived and you died?' If Draco thought his question would calm her, he was wrong.

'It should have been me! It was my job to protect him, and I let him die! I should have been there to take the spell like Lilly did, or I should have killed Voldemort faster.. it's my fault! I broke his wand, I told him for months he was wrong about Hogwarts being the last hiding place of the... How could you possibly understand anything Malfoy, you have no idea what it's like to love someone more than your own life.' She wiped the tears off her face angry with herself, she had almost told everyone about the horcruxs.

'Hermione please- tell us how to help you.' Mrs. Weasley's pleading tone calmed her anger with herself and Malfoy- slightly.

'I told you months ago, you can't help me. I need to work it out on my own.'

'That doesn't seem to be working.' She gave Dumbledore another glare. 'Tell me Ms. Granger, why are you so angry with me?' Her breathing speed up.

'You left him there, with the Dursley's. I wouldn't leave a goldfish in their care and you left a baby with them. He grew up abused and tortured, and how many times did you go back to check on him? Did you know they kept him locked in that cupboard under the stairs for weeks at a time- giving him only scraps of cold food? His uncle, cousin, and his cousin's friends all beat on him, and you left him there for ten years!'

'His mothers blood-'

'I read all about the spell keeping him safe _Professor_. Which means I know he only needed to go back there once a year for it to work. You left him with them for ten years, then had him spend weeks there every summer afterwards. The Dursley's aside, you used him like a chess piece, in a game he didn't know you were playing. What gave you the right to manipulate his life, you are not God! And then you die leaving him with more question's than answers! You should have told him about himself, and you know what I'm talking about- if we didn't find out last minute we could've found another way! But it was all 'for the greater good,' wasn't it _Professor_.' No one but Dumbledore had any idea what she was talking about, but she had all their attention. Dumbledore looked at her sadly, and could argue nothing she said, she was of course right. She breathed deeply.

'You have every right to be angry, I see I've made mistakes, but I think the person you are most angry with- beside yourself, is Harry.' She looked at him like he lost his mind. 'You are angry he died, and you lost the future you promised to each other. I see you are wearing Lilly Potter's ring.' All eyes flicked to her left hand. 'It is beautiful, but you can not spend your life trying to be faithful to a ghost. And Harry would not want you to try.' Tears rolled down her face.

'That's enough.' Godric stood. He walked towards her, but she flinched away. He sighed. 'And me my love- how do you feel about me?' She looked at him sadly.

'I love you... but I know it's not real. It will never be real. I gave my heart away a long time ago, and fairy magic can't change that.' She touched his face and closed her eyes, before apparating back to her bedroom, and throwing a tantrum any three year old would be proud of.


	15. Into the Rabbit Hole part 1

Draco Malfoy was sick of Hermione Granger. It had been almost two weeks since the intervention gone wrong, and she had not come out of her room once. He didn't even know if she was alive! And he hated that he cared if she was or not. Blaze was much more clam, he had come back to the tent three days ago with a bag of belongings. He said Hermione wouldn't care. Draco scoffed of course she wouldn't care she never left her bloody bedroom. Blaze said she needed time, but it had been almost four months since the war and the stubborn bint wasn't letting go at all. He got it, she lost her boyfriend- precious Potter, she had the right to be sad, but this was taking it to far. The girl was more depressing than a pack of starving Dementor's. People came to the tent daily. McGonagall even tried taking down the wards on her bedroom- again, which worked as well as the first three times she tried. He would have been impressed if he wasn't so damn annoyed. Here he was once again pacing in front of the fire, with a fire whiskey in his hand.

'Are you ever going to tell her?' Blaze was relaxing in an over stuffed chair with a fire whiskey of his own looking completely at ease.

'What are you talking about Blaze.' Draco snapped.

'Granger, are you ever going to tell her you had the stupidity to fall for her?' Draco sneered at him.

'I think you've finally cracked Zabini. You're the one who can't stop drooling over her.'

'Back to last names are we Malfoy? I don't deny she's gorgeous. I might even trade my sizable fortune for a night with her. But you liked her long before she was gorgeous.' Blaze laughed at the look on Draco's face.

Before Draco could tell him he was off his nut, the fire erupted causing him to spill his fire whiskey. He was about to snap at who ever came out of the fire- when he saw it was Mrs. Weasley. It was ironic, Draco spent years teasing Ron about his family, and especially his mother, only for her to become one of his favorite people. She was what Draco thought every mother should be- never cold, or greedy with her affection and attention. She sat and talked with him for hours after his parents trials. She accepted him even after everything his family did to hers. For that she would always have his respect, and adoration.

'Hello dears, give me a hand will you?' She was carrying two large bags of pre made meals. Draco and Blaze took the bags from her, and she patted their cheeks, earning smiles from both young men. Blaze looked inside the bag and smiled wider.

'Mrs. Weasley I think I'm in love with you.' She blushed a little and shoo'ed Blaze away. When they returned to the sitting room Mrs. Weasley was holding the almost empty bottle of fire whiskey with one hand on her hip.

'You boys better not be drinking to much of this.' They both stood straighter.

'No ma'am.' They both answered polite as can be. She 'humph'ed.'

'Even so I think you've had enough.' And she vanished the bottle. 'Anything new around here?' It was her way of asking if Hermione showed her face with out actually asking.

'No.'

'That settles it, it has been almost two weeks, and I will not wait another day. Blaze be a dear and go get Sookie while I call Minerva.' Blaze did as he was told and went to get Sookie.

When he came back with Sookie in tow, Eric was also with them. He had been talking to Sookie about loaning Marlott's a bartender while her boss Sam found a replacement- a waitress quit the night Sam came out as a shifter. Sam had been having trouble finding one for months. When Blaze arrived Eric went along so he could pass any information about his mate to Godric. When they entered there was a small crowd- Draco, Mrs Weasley, McGonagall, Kingsley, and George all sat waiting. When Mrs. Weasley saw Sookie she smiled.

'Hello Sookie, I was wondering if you can call the Prince, I think with his help Minerva will be able to take down Hermione's wards.'

'Of course.' Sookie went into her purse looking for her phone. She had just gotten off work and didn't even have a chance to change yet- but Hermione was her blood kin, and she had little family left. So she did as she was told with out complaint.

As the group waited for Niall Mrs. Weasley and Sookie prepared tea, coffee, and snacks. They even added some blood pop's Hermione had in a kitchen cupboard for Eric. When they returned Eric took a blood pop and smiled his most devilishly handsome smile at Mrs. Weasley causing her to blush tomato red. George, and Blaze found this hilarious.

Niall arrived after ten minutes. He looked very disheveled. 'I apologize for keeping you waiting, tho I must tell you I have tried to take the wards down myself and had little success.' He sounded both proud and put out.

'She is my best student.' McGonagall had the same tone as Niall. 'Molly thought if we worked together- since she is using both fairy and regular magic, we will be able to take them down. A marvelous idea I think.'

The group made their way to the hall outside Hermione's door. Eric being the largest stood furthest away. McGonagall and Niall, both closed their eyes and held their hands up- McGonagall holding her wand. After ten minutes Eric thought they would fail yet again. He was impressed with the little pixie. But fifteen minutes later they both smiled and opened their eyes.

'It's done.'

Niall pushed the door open and they all looked into a scene of destruction. Papers littered the floor, along with glass from a broken mirror, and scraps of fabric and feathers from what was once pillows. It looked like a tornado had passed through the bedroom. And there in the middle of the floor was an unconscious Hermione. She was wearing a small white night dress, and her hair was surrounding her like a halo. She looked like an angel in the middle of a war zone. In front of her was a small stone basin full of a swirling silver substance. Mrs. Weasley and McGonagall ran to her.

'Her heartbeat is very slow, I must call Godric.' Eric rushed out of the room to call his maker. Vampires that lose their mates usually went insane, or went on a killing spree. Eric had no doubt if the pixie died Godric would cut the world's population in half. He answered on the first ring 'Godric, you must come-' the phone disconnected before he could say anymore.

McGonagall moved quickly for an older woman, she rushed into the sitting room where Eric was still holding his phone, and threw powder into the fire turning the flames green. She then stuck her head in the flames. Eric listened to a one sided conversation she was having with a woman named Poppy. When she removed herself from the fire she waited a moment, and a short pudgy woman came out of the fire holding a healers bag.

'Where is she Minerva?'

'This way.' The two women left quickly and Eric continued to wait for his maker. Godric came five minutes later. He didn't even look at Eric, he rushed straight to Hermione.

Poppy or Madam Pomfrey, had moved Hermione to her bed and was pouring potions down her throat. Godric went to Hermione and held her hand. Her heart was slow- he was close to panic something he hadn't felt in centuries.

'Who are you?' Madam Pomfrey asked.

'I am her mate.' Her eyebrows disappeared into her hair line. 'Should I give her my blood?' Draco scoffed.

'It's your pile of ashes.' He was pacing yet again. Godric sneered at the boy.

'You're her mate?' Godric nodded at the woman his eyes glued to Hermione's face. 'Well not doing a very good job at it are you?'

'She doesn't want me near her.' He defended himself, how could he take care of his mate when she couldn't stand to be in the same room as him?

'That wouldn't have stopped Mr. Potter.' Godric didn't comment on that, for one he could not bring himself to say anything against the boy his mate loved, also the woman's opinion on how good a mate he was mattered little.

'What's wrong with her?' His voice was almost pleading. The healer softened.

'Do you see that basin?' She pointed to the floor where the stone basin sat. 'It's called a Pensieve, a highly magical instrument used for storing or reliving memories. Very useful to someone with to much on their mind- but dangerous in the wrong hands. Sometimes people remove to many memories. The brain get's confused, and in trying to recall what has been taken goes into overload, effectively shutting down. The swirling silver substance you see are her memories, as you can tell the Pensieve is full.'

'All her memories are in there?'

'No, I would guess she didn't remove them all. Just more than she could stand to lose.'

'The ones she can't bare to remember.' Molly added sadly.

'Yes I imagine most of them are highly unpleasant, with everything the poor girl has gone through over the years.'

'Can't you just put them back?' She scowled at him.

'When it comes to the brain it is never that simple, I must watch them- to separate them in order. Then add them back one at a time. If I tried to put them all back at once her brain wouldn't be able to handle the onslaught of information. It could leave her in a magical coma. And if I added them out of order- even one mistake could alter her forever.'

'But you can fix her.' Godric just wanted a yes or no answer.

'I will try my best. I can make no promises, as I said nothing is easy when it comes to the human brain.'

'Name your price, and you will have it before dawn.'

'I agree, anything you desire, I will see it is yours.' Niall added.

'I have taken care of this girl and her friends since she was eleven years old, I need no incentive to save her, I will do all I can. Kingsley, it is protocol to have a Obliviator present when reviewing memories, but in her case I'm not sure that's a good idea.'

'I agree Poppy, I will stand in.' Kingsley knew Hermione was holding secrets from the war he did not want an Obliviator privy to that information, also he was very curious.

'I will also need help with the time line, most peoples memories are not in order, I suspect she may be different her mind has always been so organized. Still their can be no mistakes. It would have been wonderful to have one of her best friends here but...'

'Their all dead. I think I can help with that tho.' George stepped forward.

'I will also help.' Molly walked over to Hermione and brushed her hand over her forehead.

'And I can account for her time at Hogwarts.' McGonagall also stepped forward. 'She has done so much, it would be my honor to help her in anyway I can.'

'She is my mate, in the vampire world that makes her my wife. No one is going through her memories with out me, and I want my child to join us.' There was no argument against that, as her mate he was right, she was counted as his wife. Eric nodded- not actually wanting to see her memories but unable to say no to his maker. Draco thought they were all mad, when Hermione found out her most private memories were up for review she would kill them all. Blaze looked upset and Draco knew it was because he was having trouble thinking of a reason he should be allowed to see into the Pensieve as well, but then he brightened.

'I will not be joining, I imagine she has memories she would not want her father to see, also I can be of no help with the time line. I will respect her privacy on this matter. But I expect to be told if there is anything I can do. I must return to Faerie there was a small invasion going on before I left. Call me if any progress is made.' Niall walked over to his daughter and kissed her face. 'Return to me my Princess, we have not had near enough time together, blood of my blood.' He looked to Godric. 'Take care of her.' Godric nodded seriously, and then Niall POPed.

'We have all interacted with her over the years, I think it would be safer if we all watched.' Draco sneered at Blaze. To Draco's astonishment McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey nodded.

'I am not watching her memories, she will hex us all when she finds out.'

'Not even to save her? You have had contact with her over the years none of us witnessed. You could be a great help.' Mrs. Weasley gave him a 'I'll let you think about it but you better agree,' look. Draco sighed.

'What would happen if some memories were added out of order?' Poppy thought.

'It's hard to say, she can lose some details from her past, or the sense of time in her mind could be ruined, some people have even gone mad.' Draco sighed and nodded.

'I think I can help.' They all looked at Sookie, she hadn't spoken in so long almost everyone had forgotten she was there.

'How can you help?' Poppy was genuinely curious.

'I'm a telepath I see inside peoples heads everyday.' Poppy nodded.

Mcgonagall picked the Pensieve up very carefully. 'I think the sitting room would be better.' Poppy agreed and nodded. Everyone followed her out of the room leaving only Godric and Eric.

'She did this because of me.' Godric didn't look at Eric.

'No she did this because she has been through to much for her young age.' Godric didn't reply.

'I will be back my love, first I must see what haunts you so.' He softly kissed her lips. Hermione sighed in her sleep, making Godric smile slightly.

When the vampires joined the group in the living room they saw all the chairs moved away and the Pensieve was sitting on the coffee table. Everyone was quiet for a long moment before Poppy spoke.

'I will keep a list, if anyone see's anything out of order you must say so at once, as I said I think her memories will be in order, but if anyone notices anything you must tell me.' Molly, George, Draco, Blaze, and Kingsley all nodded. 'Young woman if you notice anything wrong with the memories let me know.' Sookie nodded. 'Try and remember this is not a muggle movie, you are not watching to be entertained, and if anyone causes distractions they will leave the Pensieve at once.' They all nodded.

'Everyone please sign these.' Kingsley passed around magical contracts. 'When you sign you are agreeing not to share any information you may learn with anyone who does not need to know, or anyone connected to the press.' They all signed and passed the contracts back to Kingsley.

'One the count of three we will all put a finger into the Pensieve, for those of you that have never used one before do not be alarmed, it will pull you inside. The memories will look as real as the world around us. When the memories change, everything should go dark then a new memory will start to play out. Any questions?' No one spoke. 'Very well. 1,2,3.'

Eric, Godric, and Sookie were amazed it was as if they went back in time, except none of the people could see them. They were standing on the Hogwarts Express. A small bushy haired girl wearing her school robes had just walked into a compartment with two boys obviously wearing hand-me-down's. One had messy black hair, glasses, and emerald green eyes. The other was a red head holding a rat, with a smudge of dirt on his nose. Molly held her heart at the sight of her dead son.

'You're Harry Potter! I'm Hermione Granger.' She smiled at him.

'Ron Weasley.' She looked less happy to see him.

'Pleasure-'

They watched as Ron tried and failed to do a spell meant to turn the rat yellow. George laughed, he and Fred fooled Ron into believing that spell was real. The image changed the memories were coming in flashes. They watched Hermione get her first look at Hogwarts, (Godric, Eric, and Sookie were just as spell bound as Hermione with the castle.) Then she was sorted into Gryffindor. They saw Ron teasing her, watched as Harry jumped on the back of a mountain troll to save her. Hermione listening to Draco and Harry argue, and Draco challenging Harry to a duel. Ron, Harry, and Hermione running down a corridor and into a room with a monstrous three headed dog that almost ate them.

'I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could have been all killed - or worse, expelled.'

'She needs to sort out her priorities.' Ron told Harry who nodded.

Harry almost falling off his broom- and Hermione setting Snape on fire- Harry catching the snitch in his mouth. Hermione doing research on Nicholas Flamel. Harry, Hermione, and Ron talking in Gryffindor common room about the Philosopher Stone and Voldemort wanting it to come back. Then the three headed dog sleeping as a harp played. Ron, Hermione, and Harry jumping into a trap door as the dog woke. Hermione saving Ron from Devils Snare. A giant chess game, where Ron had to sacrifice himself so Harry could continue on. Hermione figuring out the riddle and which potions to drink to get through the fire knowing there was only enough for Harry to go ahead.

'Harry- you're a great wizard, you know.'

'I'm not as good as you,' Harry said looking very embarrassed.

'Me? Books, and cleverness! There are more important things- like friendship and bravery- oh and Harry- be careful!' Hermione hugged him tight before walking back through the flames.

Then it was Hermione sitting at his bedside as he was unconscious. 'You have to wake up Harry, you did it, you stopped Quirrell and 'You-Know-Who,' just like I knew you would. You were so brave. Please wake up Harry- you're my best friend.'

Poppy letting Hermione and Ron in to see Harry when he woke up. Hermione ran in the room ready to throw her arms around him, but didn't. Harry told Hermione and Ron every thing that happened with Quirrell, the mirror of Erised, and what- or who was under Quirrell's turban. The end of term feast and Gryffindor winning the house cup. Poppy paused the memories.

'We're all agreed that was in order?' McGonagall nodded. Poppy used her wand to collect some of the silver memory and put it in a small glass vial labeling it with a large number one.

'They were only eleven...' Sookie was amazed by the three small children she just watched accomplish such a terrifying task. Godric looked proud of his mate, and Eric's respect for the the pixie was growing.

'They were always very brave, they were Gryffindor's after all.' McGonagall was very proud of her students.

Poppy started the memories again. They were standing in a book shop, Harry and Malfoy were arguing once again then Lucius Malfoy and Mr. Weasley walked over. The men started arguing as well, and soon Mr. Weasley and Lucius were muggle fighting knocking over shelves. Lucius shoved two books into Ginny's arms. The memory changed Hermione was yelling at Harry and Ron for stealing a car and flying to school. Molly smiled fondly when her Howler arrived. Hermione and Ron running up to the quidditch pitch. Hermione telling Draco he only made the team because his father bought his spot. And Draco calling her 'Mudblood,' Draco winced as he watched his younger self. Hermione, Harry, and Ron at a party full of ghosts.

'Oh my god those are ghosts!' Sookie was shocked.

'Yes there are many Ghosts at Hogwarts.'

Harry telling Hermione, and Ron he was hearing a voice no one else could hear, as he followed it they found Mrs. Norris hanging upside down with, 'THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEENOPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.' Written on the wall in blood beside her. Harry playing quidditch while a rogue bludger chased him around the pitch. Harry's arm being broken- and Harry telling Hermione and Ron how Dobby visited him in the hospital wing. Harry and Draco dueling in front of the dueling club, and Draco sending a snake at Harry- Harry talking to the snake. Then telling Hermione and Ron he did't realize he was speaking a different language. Harry being blamed for the muggleborn's being petrified. Hermione making Polyjuice potion after they decided Draco was the heir of Slytherin, and they needed to talk to him. Draco scoffed, McGonagall was appalled- as were Poppy and Molly that she would try such a advanced potion in second year.

Hermione putting cat hair in her Polyjuice potion and turning into a sort of person cat hybrid. Finding Tom Marvolo Riddle's diary in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry becoming obsessed with the diary, and telling Ron and Hermione how he was sucked into the book- and saw Hagrid with the monster, a giant spider. Hermione running away from Harry and Ron to the library and finding out the monster was a basilisk. Hermione looking around a hall way with a mirror, and seeing the reflection of yellow eyes. The everything went black. A moment later Hermione was running through the great hall and into Harry's arms. 'I knew you could do it, I knew you would figure it out.'

Harry and Ron telling her all about the adventure in the Chamber and how Tom Marvolo Riddle was Voldemort's name. Then Harry told Hermione and Ron it was Lucius Malfoy that gave Ginny the diary. Draco cursed his father under his breath. As Hermione was hugging Harry on the train platform. Poppy paused the memory again.

'Wow,' Kingsley said it all. They were all in disbelief.

'Poppy that was all in order as far as I could tell.' McGonagall of course knew all about their adventure with the Chamber, but watching an account of that year through Hermione's eyes was fascinating.

'Yes, all the part's with me anyway.' Draco added.

'You were her enemy.' Godric said to Draco, he didn't look or sound angry, and Draco could not deny it. So he nodded. 'And now?'

'Now I am not.'

'What changed?' Eric was also looking at Draco, he was growing more and more fond of the little witch and if Draco was a threat to her Eric wanted to know.

'I'm sure you'll see.'


	16. Into the Rabbit Hole part 2

Molly walked into Hermione's bedroom, they were taking a short break because several people were hungry- she was not. When she entered the room Godric was laying with Hermione talking to her in a language Molly didn't understand, but the tone he spoke to her in was very gentle. She listened for a minute not wanting to interrupt. But of course he knew she was there.

'Are they ready?' He didn't look away from Hermione.

'Not yet. Poppy is going to put the first batch of memories back in her mind soon. What were you telling her?' He smiled.

'My memories, it seems only fair.'

'Indeed, I imagine she will be very angry with us all when she wakes up.' Godric didn't reply, she was already angry with him. 'She's known as the brightest witch of the age you know, she is also uncommonly kindhearted, and strong.'

'You love her like a daughter.' It was not a question.

'She is mine in all but blood. I lost three children in the war, and Harry who I also loved as my own.' He looked over to her.

'I am sorry.' And she could tell he meant it.

'As am I- I miss them all every moment of the day, but I have other children, and a husband. Hermione has nothing, of course she has my family- but I can tell we are walking reminders of the people she lost. You can give something to live for. It won't be easy, she's as stubborn as they come, but it will be worth it. You will never find someone more loving and loyal than her.'

'She will never love me as she loves him.' Sadly Molly couldn't argue.

Poppy walked in the room holding the first vial. She walked over to Hermione and pulled out her wand. The silver memory attached it's self the the tip and Poppy pressed it to Hermione's temple. The memory dissolved into her skin, Hermione gasped- but didn't wake.

'Will she wake when the last of the memories are back in her mind?'

'It will probably take a day or so.' Godric nodded.

'Were ready to resume.' Godric nodded again then he turned to Molly.

'Is there anything you can do to make this room light tight?' Molly smiled at him.

'Yes, I think I can do that.'

They made their way back to the sitting room. Sookie was talking to Blaze, Draco, and George. McGonagall was discussing something about Hogwarts with Kingsley, and Eric was on the phone with a pop in his mouth. Godric looked at him like he had lost his mind- vampires do not eat candy. Eric got off the phone when they entered. As he got closer Godric smelled blood, not candy. Eric took one off the tray and handed it to him.

'Try one, their delicious.' Godric put the pop in his mouth and had to agree it was delicious, but it was nothing compared to Hermione's blood. Godric had never tasted anything like the sweet ambrosia that is Hermione's blood.

'Where did you get these?'

'Hermione bought them before she came here.' Godric raised his eyebrows. 'She knew Sookie was blood tied to me- well to a vampire. The night I met her she gave me and Pam both one. It was a consolation prize of sorts.' Godric laughed.

'For what?' Eric smiled.

'She told me she knew who I was because she did an essay for school. She came across my name while doing research I - of course asked if she wrote about me, she said she had but only a single paragraph. Pam thought that was rather funny, my ego was bruised so I asked what could be so interesting that I should only get one paragraph. Her answer was 'Godric the Child of Death,' and she gave me the pop.' Godric laughed again.

'So my Princess knows of me.'

'She does, not much but enough to keep up a conversation about you for an hour or so.' Godric smiled, Eric was glad to see it, he was hoping that story would bring his maker some happiness. Sookie heard the conversation.

'She told me about you to. I was telling her about Eric tricking me into being pledged to him,' she shot Eric a scathing look. 'She remembered where she had seen his name, so I asked her what she knew about Eric. She spent about a minute telling me about his human life, then when she got to him being changed she didn't mention him again. I asked her if you were an actual child, she kinda looked at me like I was stupid. And explained that you were call that because you were changed by some old vampire the Egyptian's thought was the god of death. I forgot what name she called him.' Godric was surprised. Molly who had been listening smiled at him.

'I told you brightest witch of the age.'

Of course Godric knew what they were doing- trying to make him feel better about his mate wanting nothing to do with him, but he allowed it, simply because it did make him feel better.

Everyone once again gathered around the Pensieve.

'Harry! HARRY!' Hermione yelled she and Ron were sitting outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Ron looking incredibly pale and freckly while Hermione was very tan, they were both waving frantically at Harry. Everyone listened as Harry told Ron, and Hermione about blowing up his aunt, Ron was laughing- Hermione was not. The memory changed, again they were on the train- this time they were sitting next to a middle aged man, Professor R. J. Lupin Hermione pointed out- he was asleep. Harry told Hermione and Ron about Sirius Black, and Mr. Weasley's warning. Hermione and Ron both looked scared of the mass murder breaking out of Azkaban to find, and kill Harry, but Harry himself did not.

The train stopped and the lights went out. Ginny, and Neville were now in the compartment with them, and Professor Lupin woke lighting his wand and telling them all to be quiet. The door opened and standing in the doorway, illuminated by Lupin's wand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water. Sookie jumped and screamed. A moment later Harry passed out falling to the floor, Hermione yelled for him. The Professor cast a silver mist and the Dementor moved on. Hermione was holding Harry's head in her lap.

'Professor do something! Is he alright?'

'He will be fine I assure you.' He stared down at Harry for a long moment.

Harry woke asking them who was screaming- but no one was. Next Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all sitting in a very strange class room, it was full of heavy fumes, and for seats there were large over stuffed pillows. They were all holding tea cups. And the teacher- a strange looking woman with glasses that made her eyes look much larger, was holding Harry's cup. She looked inside and gasped, finding the representation of a Grim, a large black dog symbolizing death.

In Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid was introducing the students to Hippogriffs, large, deeply dignified crosses between horses and eagles. Draco insulted one, and was attacked.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron were listening to the Fat Lady tell Dumbledore Sirius Black had tried to get into the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione and Ron were sitting in a storm, watching Harry play quidditch, when he was surrounded by Dementor's and fell over a hundred feet to the ground. Hermione screamed a blood curdling scream, and pushed her way through the crowd not caring who she knocked over- including Ron. Then Harry was showing Hermione and Ron the Marauder's Map.

'That would be useful.' Blaze admired the map. 'Where is the map now?'

'Hermione has it, she has all Harry's possessions.' Kingsley answered, he to thought the map would be useful.

Harry using the invisibility cloak joined Ron and Hermione in Hogsmeade. At the Three Broomsticks they overheard Cornelius Fudge, Professor McGonagall, Madam Rosmerta, Hagrid, and Professor Flitwick discussing Sirius Black's responsibility for Harry's parents' deaths, and the fact that he was James Potter's best friend, and Harry's god father. He was also responsible for the death of another Hogwarts student, Peter Pettigrew, who was blown to bits.

'Harry listen,' said Hermione, exchanging a look with Ron, 'you must be really upset about what we heard yesterday. But the thing is, you mustn't go doing anything stupid.'

'Like what?'

'Like trying to go after Black,' Ron said sharply.

'You won't, will you, Harry?' Hermione was near pleading.

'Because Black's not worth dying for.' Ron added.

'Do you know what I see and hear every time a Dementor gets too near me and I pass out?' Ron and Hermione shook their heads, looking very apprehensive. 'I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you'd heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her-'

'There's nothing you can do!' Hermione said looking stricken. 'The Dementor's will catch Black and he'll go back to Azkaban and - and serve him right!'

'You heard what Fudge said Mione. Black isn't affected by Azkaban like normal people are. It's not a punishment for him like it is for the others.'

'So what are you saying?' Ron, looked very tense. 'You want to- to kill Black or something?'

'Don't be silly,' Hermione said in a very panicky voice. 'Harry doesn't want to kill anyone, do you, Harry?'

Harry didn't answer. 'Malfoy knows,' he said. 'Remember what he said to me in Potions? 'If it was me, I'd hunt him down myself… I'd want revenge.'

'You're going to take Malfoy's advice instead of ours?' Ron sounded furious. 'Listen do you know what Pettigrew's mother got back after Black had finished with him? Dad told me- the Order of Merlin, First Class, and Pettigrew's finger in a box. That was the biggest bit of him they could find. Black's a madman, Harry, and he's dangerous-'

'Malfoy's dad must have told him,' said Harry, ignoring Ron. 'He was right in Voldemort's inner circle.'

'Say You-Know-Who, will you?' Ron interjected angrily.

'-so obviously, the Malfoy's knew Black was working for Voldemort -'

'and Malfoy'd love to see you blown into about a million pieces, like Pettigrew! Get a grip. Malfoy's just hoping you'll get yourself killed before he has to play you at quidditch.'

'Harry, _please_,' Hermione said, her eyes now shining with tears, '_Please_ be sensible. Black did a terrible, terrible thing, but don't put yourself in danger, it's what Black wants. Harry, you'd be playing right into Black's hands if you went looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt, would they? They'd never want you to go looking for Black!'

'I'll never know what they'd have wanted, because thanks to Black, I've never spoken to them,' Harry said shortly.

Sookie, Molly, and Poppy had tears in their eyes, McGonagall sniffed, and Draco looked guilty.

Next they learn't Hagrid received a notice- Buckbeak, the hippogriff who attacked Draco, was going to be put on trial.

Christmas morning Harry had gotten a Fire Bolt and Hermione was worried it was from Sirius Black so she told McGonagall, who took the broom away. Flashes- Hermione all alone, sometimes crying, or talking to Hagrid because Harry and Ron wouldn't speak to her for weeks. Godric grit his teeth at seeing his mate cry. Then Harry was slouching in a chair by the fire in Gryffindor common room telling Hermione about his lessons with Professor Lupin and trying to cast a Patronus.

'Don't push yourself to hard Harry, the Patronus charm is very advanced.'

'I need to get it Mione, what if the Dementor's show up at the next match? I can't fall off my broom again Gryffindor will lose it's shot at the cup.'

Hermione rolled her eyes and stood, kissing Harry's cheek before telling him she was going to bed and he ought to do the same. Again they were watching Harry play quidditch and as two large Dementor's flew towards him- he cast a Patronus. Hermione screamed overjoyed that Harry had managed to cast the Patronus, a second later Harry won the game and they were all running down to the pitch. Everyone looked down and saw Draco and three other Slytherin's covered in black cloaks- McGonagall was screaming at them for dressing up like Dementor's and trying to ruin the game. Sookie looked over to a slightly flushed Draco and laughed. Blaze, Poppy, and Kingsley joined in turning Draco's light flush to a full on blush.

When the memory changed they were standing in Gryffindor common room surrounded by students all dressed in night clothes. Ron was yelling about Sirius Black trying to kill him in his bed with a knife- no one believed him. McGonagall showed up and asked the painting of Sir Cadogan if he had let a man in and the painting confirmed that indeed he had.

'Hold on.' Sookie said, and Poppy stopped the memory at once.

'Is there something wrong with the memory?'

'No. I just have questions. Tom Riddle- or Voldemort tried to kill Harry when he was a baby, but because his mother sacrificed herself for him the spell backfired, and Voldemort was destroyed. Why didn't he die, or how didn't he die? And then he tries to kill Harry every chance he get's, why? Why did he go after Harry to begin with? What's the point of trying to kill a one year old child? And now this Sirius Black- Harry's own god father wants to kill him too, what was so special about Harry that all the bad guys want him dead?' Everyone was asking themselves the same questions- some of them had been for years, but none of them had all the answers. McGonagall, Kingsley, and Molly knew bits and pieces from working with Dumbledore and the Order, but the contents of the prophesy and Voldemort's link to life was never shared.

'We don't know, but I think all the answers will become clear in Hermione's memories. I've no doubt that she knows the answers to your questions- and mine.' Sookie nodded at McGonagall.

When the memories started again Ron was yelling at Hermione blaming her cat for the death of his pet rat. Once again the flashes started, and once again Harry and Ron were not talking to Hermione. She spent days alone, crying and doing school work. She received a letter from Hagrid and told Harry and Ron Buckbeak's execution date had been set. They reconciled in their efforts to help Hagrid.

'S'no good,' Hagrid said sadly as they reached the castle steps. 'That Committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' gonna make sure the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. I owe him that.' Hagrid turned around and hurried back toward his cabin, his face buried in his handkerchief.

'Look at him blubber!' Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had been standing just inside the castle doors, listening. 'Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?' Draco said. 'And he's supposed to be our teacher!'

Harry and Ron both made furious moves toward Draco, but Hermione got there first- SMACK! She had slapped Draco across the face, and Draco staggered. Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle stood flabbergasted as Hermione raised her hand again.

'Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul- you evil-"

'Hermione!' Ron said weakly, and he tried to grab her hand as she swung it back.

'Get off, Ron!' Hermione pulled out her wand. Draco stepped backward. Crabbe and Goyle looked at him for instructions, bewildered.

'C'mon.' Draco muttered, and in a moment, all three of them had disappeared.

'Hermione!' Ron said again, sounding both stunned and impressed. Eric was laughing while Draco rubbed his face remembering Hermione's strength.

'She is quite fierce.' Godric smiled.

'I've no doubt someday soon it will be you on the other end of one of her smacks.' Godric smiled wider.

Days later, Gryffindor beat Slytherin in quidditch, winning the Cup. Hermione ran to Harry who still had the snitch in his hand and jumped into his arms. He picked her up spinning her around.

'I don't know how I never saw it.' Molly commented, in Hermione's memories it was completely obvious that her and Harry would end up together. McGonagall nodded.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry- in Harry's invisibility cloak and head off to comfort Hagrid before the execution. While at his cabin, Hermione discovered Scabbers in Hagrid's milk jug. They left, before Buckbeak was executed. As Ron, Harry, and Hermione were leaving Hagrid's hut a large black dog approached and pounced on Ron, dragging him under the Whomping Willow. Molly shrieked- Harry and Hermione and Crookshanks dashed down after them; oddly, Crookshanks knew the secret knob to press to stop the flailing tree. They moved through an underground tunnel and arrived at the Shrieking Shack. The black dog turned into Sirius Black in a room with Ron.

'Expelliarmus!' He croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them.

Harry's and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Sirius caught them. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry.

'I thought you'd come and help your friend, your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make everything much easier…'

Harry looked as if he was about to rush Sirius Black, Hermione grabbed him. 'No, Harry!'

'If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!' Ron said fiercely, the effort of standing upright draining him of color, he swayed slightly as he spoke. Molly shook her head.

'Lie down,' Sirius said quietly to Ron. 'You'll damage that leg even more.'

'Did you hear me?' Ron said weakly, 'You'll have to kill all three of us!'

'There'll be only one murder here tonight,' Sirius's grin widened.

'Why's that?' Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Hermione. 'Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew… What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?' Draco smirked, Potter was brave.

'Harry!' Hermione whimpered. 'Be quiet!'

'HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!' Harry roared, and he broke free of Hermione's restraint and lunged forward.

Perhaps it was the shock of Harry doing something so stupid, but Sirius didn't raise the wands in time one of Harry's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away; the knuckles of Harry's other hand collided with the side of Sirius's head and they fell, backward, into a wall Hermione was screaming; Ron was yelling; there was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Harry's face by inches.

Sirius's free hand found Harry's throat 'No,' he hissed, 'I've waited too long.' His fingers tightened, Harry choked, his glasses all askew. Hermione's foot came out of nowhere. Sirius let go of Harry with a grunt of pain; as her foot connected with his ribs.

Ron had thrown himself on Sirius's wand.

Harry fought free of the tangle of bodies and went for his wand.

'Argh!' Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep into Harry's arm; Harry threw him off, but Crookshanks now darted toward Harry's wand.

'NO YOU DON'T!' roared Harry, and he aimed a kick at Crookshanks that made the cat leap aside, spitting; Harry snatched up his wand and turned. "Get out of the way!" he shouted at Ron and Hermione.

Hermione, gasping for breath, her lip bleeding, scrambled aside, snatching up her and Ron's wands. Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting, his white face now tinged with green, both hands clutching his broken leg.

'She is fearless.' Yes Eric's respect for the witch was growing- fast.

Sirius was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Harry walking slowly nearer, his wand pointing straight at Black's heart.

'Going to kill me, Harry?' he whispered.

Harry stopped right above him, his wand still pointing at Sirius's chest, looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Sirius's left eye and his nose was bleeding.

'You killed my parents,' said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, but his wand hand steady. Sirius stared up at him out of sunken eyes.

'I don't deny it,' he said very quietly. 'But if you knew the whole story.'

'The whole story?' Harry repeated. 'You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know.'

'You've got to listen to me,' Sirius said, there was a note of urgency in his voice now.'You'll regret it if you don't… You don't understand.'

'Listen Harry.' MaGonagall spoke to the memory.

'I understand a lot better than you think,' Harry said, and his voice shook more than ever. 'You never heard her, did you? My mum… trying to stop Voldemort killing me… and you did that… you did it…' Molly dabbed away tears.

Before anyone could say another word, something ginger streaked past Harry; Crookshanks leapt onto Sirius's chest and settled himself there, right over his heart.

"Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him. Crookshanks sank his claws into Sirius's robes and wouldn't budge, Hermione gave a dry sob. Harry stared down at Black and Crookshanks, his grip tightening on the wand.

The seconds lengthened. Still Harry stood frozen there, wand poised, Sirius staring up at him, Crookshanks on his chest. Ron's ragged breathing came from near the bed; Hermione was silent.

And then a new sound- muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor- someone was moving downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed. "WE'RE UP HERE- SIRIUS BLACK- QUICK!"

Sirius made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Harry gripped his wand convulsively the footsteps were thundering up the stairs and Harry still hadn't done it. The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks. Harry wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face pale, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over the scene- Ron, lying on the floor, Hermione next to the door, Harry standing there with his wand covering Sirius, and Sirius himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.

'Expelliarmus!' Lupin shouted. 'Where is he, Sirius?'

Sirius's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, Harry and Hermione glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered.

'But then…' Lupin muttered, staring at Sirius so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, '… why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless.' Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something none of the rest could see, 'unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?' Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Sirius nodded.

'Professor,' Harry interrupted loudly, 'what's going on?'

Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing at Sirius. The Professor walked to his side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet. Crookshanks fell to the floor, and Lupin embraced Sirius like a brother.

'I DON'T BELIEVE IT!' Sookie screamed.

'I DON'T BELIEVE IT!' Hermione screamed. Godric smiled at Sookie.

Lupin let go of Sirius and turned to her. She had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed. 'You - you-'

'Hermione-'

'-you and him!'

'Hermione, calm down-'

'Like asking her to calm down will help.' Draco scoffed.

'I didn't tell anyone!' Hermione shrieked. 'I've been covering up for you-'

'Hermione, listen to me, please!' Lupin shouted. 'I can explain.'

'I trusted you,' Harry shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering, out of control, 'and all the time you've been his friend!'

'You're wrong, I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now. Let me explain.'

'NO!' Hermione screamed. 'Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too- he's a werewolf!'

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin including everyone watching the memory- he looked remarkably calm, though rather pale. 'Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione,' he said. 'Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead.' He shivered. 'But I won't deny that I am a werewolf, how long have you known?'

'Since I did Professor Snape's essay.'

'He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant he'll be thrilled. Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the Boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?'

'Both,' Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh. 'You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione.'

'I'm not, If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!'

'They already know, at least, the staff do.'

'Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf,' Ron gasped. 'Is he mad?'

'He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy-'

'AND HE WAS WRONG!' Harry yelled. 'YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!'

'I have not been helping Sirius, if you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look-' He separated Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner.

'You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?'

'If you haven't been helping him,' Harry said, with a furious glance at Sirius, 'how did you know he was here?'

'The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it-'

'You know how to work it?' Harry asked suspiciously.

'Of course I know how to work it,' said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. 'I helped write it. I'm Moony- that was my friends' nickname for me at school.'

'You wrote-'

'The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I? You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry-'

'How d'you know about the cloak?'

'The number of times I saw James disappearing under it- The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else.'

'No, we weren't!'

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you? Then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black…I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow."

"One of us!" Ron said angrily.

"No, Ron," said Lupin. "Two of you. Do you think I could have a look at the rat?"

"What? What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise. Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

"What d'you mean of course he's a rat."

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

"You're both mental."

"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly.

"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry. "He killed him twelve years ago!" He pointed at Sirius, whose face twitched convulsively.

"I meant to," he growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me… not this time, though!" Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Black lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as his weight fell on his broken leg.

"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging him away from Ron, "WAIT! You can't do it just like that they need to understand we've got to explain."

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Sirius, trying to throw Lupin off. One hand was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a pig, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape.

"They've- got- a- right- to- know- everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Sirius. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand, and Harry, you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!" Sirius stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.

"All right, then," He said, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…"

"You're nutters, both of you," said Ron shakily, looking round at Harry and Hermione. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."

"You're going to hear me out, Ron," Lupin said quietly. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you  
listen."

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!"

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," Harry said. "A whole street full of them."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" Sirius said savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself- until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map never lies… Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly. "But Professor Lupin… Scabbers can't be Pettigrew… it just can't be true, you know it can't…"

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class.

"Because… because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework- the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things… and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list." Lupin started to laugh.

"Right again, Hermione!" he said. "But the Ministry never knew that here used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," Sirius said still watching Scabbers's every move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right… but you'll need to help me, Sirius, I only know how it began…" The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing.

"No one there…"

"This place is haunted!" said Ron.

"It's not," said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted… The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me. I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week, preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform… I'm able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again. Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me. Then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school. I told you months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house" Lupin looked miserably around the room, "the tunnel that leads to it, they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous. My transformations in those days were- were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor… Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it… apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black… Peter Pettigrew… and, of course, your father, Harry- James Potter. Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her… I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth… They didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

"Hold on." Sookie said confused. "I know werewolves, and they don't drink potions. Or become mindless beasts."

"You know muggle wolves. Magical people can not be born as werewolves, and when they are bitten the different types of magic's clash inside them. When they are forced to change during the full moon they are over come with the magic of the transformation, losing human thought- becoming the wolf." Sookie's mouth made a 'O' shape and she nodded.

"My dad too?" said Harry, astounded.

"Yes," said Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong- one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?" Hermione sounded puzzled.

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals, a werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed… Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"Hurry up, Remus,"

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there… well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did… And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

"What sort of animal —?" Harry began, but Hermione cut him off.

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them.  
We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless- carried away with our own cleverness. I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed…" Lupin's face had hardened, there was self-disgust in his voice. "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me… and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it… so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape? What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's here Sirius, he's teaching here as well."

"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons… you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me. Severus was very interested in where I went every month." Lupin told Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "We were in the same year, you know, and we — er — didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the quidditch field… anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be - er - amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it- if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life… Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was."

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin. Every one watching the memory was so involved in what was going on they all jumped, including the vampires.

Severus Snape was pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin. Hermione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. "I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep this wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you…" Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did… lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus-" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout."

"You haven't heard everything I can explain, Sirius is not here to kill Harry."

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this… He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin… a tame werewolf."

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Sirius started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Sirius's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will." Sirius stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred. Harry glanced around at Ron and Hermione. Ron looked just as confused as he did, still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. Hermione, however, took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape- it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."

"But if -if there was a mistake."

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. Grodric growled. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face. Hermione fell silent.

"How I hoped I would be the one to catch you…"

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Sirius snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" He jerked his head at Ron . "I'll come quietly…"

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the Dementor's once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black… pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay…"

"You've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat- look at the rat."

But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes. He seemed beyond reason.

"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him too." Harry had crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door.

"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin-"

"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry said. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the Dementor's. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Potter."

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN-"

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black- now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!" Before Snape could take even one step toward him, he had raised his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled- except that his wasn't the only voice that shouted. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.

Harry looked around. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"Sweet Merlin!" McGonagall yelled. Molly and Poppy were holding their hearts. Blaze and Draco were stifling laughter, and the vampires were smiling.

"Well, what else were they supposed to do?" Kingsley asked.

"You shouldn't have done that, you should have left him to me…" Sirius said.

"We attacked a teacher… We attacked a teacher…" Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble-" Now Molly laughed.

"Thank you, Harry," Lupin said as Sirius helped him out of him binds.

"I'm not saying I believe you,"

"Then it's time we offered you some proof- you, boy- give me Peter, please. Now."

"Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean…" He looked up at Harry and Hermione, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat- there are millions of rats, how's he supposed to know which one he is after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to him and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"

Sirius put a hand inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others. It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?"

"Fudge, when he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts where Harry was…"

"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw."

"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.

"He's got a toe missing," said Sirius.

"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple… so brilliant… he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed. When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself, and sped down into the sewer with the other rats."

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages."

"Twelve years, in fact," said Lupin. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We- we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron. Molly smiled fondly at her son.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin."I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again."

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.

"This cat isn't mad," Sirius said hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me. Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me."

"What do you mean?" breathed Hermione.

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't, so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower. As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table. But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it. This cat- Crookshanks, did you call him? told me Peter had left blood on the sheets. I supposed he bit himself. Well, faking his own death had worked once."

"And why did he fake his death?" Harry said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," said Lupin, "Harry-"

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes, I have,"

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"Harry, all this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down — but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father Sirius tracked Peter down."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

"Harry… I as good as killed them," Sirius croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me… I'm to blame, I know it… The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies… I realized what Peter must've done… what I'd done…" His voice broke. He turned away.

"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?"

"Force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. "Ready, Sirius?"

"Together?" he said quietly.

"I think so", said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One- two- THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands.

"Well, hello, Peter, long time, no see."

"Sirius… Remus…" Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. His eyes darted toward the door. "My friends… my old friends…"

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed."

"Remus, you don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…"

"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'll be so-"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" said Lupin, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of! How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" Pettigrew flinched. "What, scared to hear your old master's name? I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius." muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years, you've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter… They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them… I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information… and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter-"

"Don't know… what you're talking about…" said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this- this madness, Remus."

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly.

"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban the spy, Sirius Black!"

"How dare you! Me a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us… me and Remus… and James…"

"Me, a spy… must be out of your mind… never… don't know how you can say such a-"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Sirius hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan… a bluff… Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you… It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters." Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy,"

"Professor Lupin?" said Hermione timidly. "Can - can I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione," said Lupin courteously.

"Well- Scabbers- I mean, this- this man- he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"

"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"

"I'll tell you why," Sirius said. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…"

"Er- Mr. Black- Sirius?" said Hermione. Sirius stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her. "If you don't mind me asking, how- how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementor's couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me keep my powers… so when it all became… too much… I could transform in my cell… become a dog. Dementor's can't see, you know…" He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions… They could tell that my feelings were less- less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand… But then I saw Peter in that picture… I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry… perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again, ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors… So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive… It was as if someone had lit a fire In my head, and the Dementor's couldn't destroy it… It wasn't a happy feeling… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog… It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused… I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars… I swam as a dog back to the mainland… I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did Harry…" He looked at Harry, who did not look away. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them." Harry nodded.

"No!" Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.

"Sirius it's me… it's Peter… your friend… you wouldn't-"

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," Sirius pushed him away.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this- wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus,"

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.

"You wouldn't… you won't…" gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Ron.

"Ron… haven't I been a good friend… a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you… you're on my side, aren't you?" Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.

"I let you sleep in my bed!" he said. Blaze laughed.

"Kind boy… kind master…" Pettigrew crawled toward Ron "You won't let them do it… I was your rat… I was a good pet…"

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," Sirius said harshly.

Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes. "Sweet girl… clever girl… you- you won't let them… Help me…" Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry."Harry… Harry… you look just like your father… just like him…"

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" Sirius roared. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed James would have understood, Harry… he would have shown me mercy."

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort. Do you deny it?" Sirius asked.

Pettigrew burst into tears. "Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine… I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me-"

"DON'T LIE! YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"He- he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed? Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Sirius and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised. "You should have realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall. "NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't." Everyone in the memory and watching looked staggered.

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents. This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."

"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementor's… He can go to Azkaban… but don't kill him."

"Harry!"gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You- thank you- it's more than I deserve- thank you."

"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers just for you."

No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Sirius and Lupin were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Sirius. "But think… think what he did…"

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does." Hermione walked over to him and touched his hand smiling.

"These memories are much longer."

"Hermione must see this as a pivotal year." Poppy answered Godric with hardly a look in his direction.

"Sirius told me about Harry, Hermione, and Ron jumping him the first time they met, but to see three unarmed thirteen year old wizards attack an armed- convicted murder is... well I always knew they were brave." Kingsley was very impressed.

"Did you see Snape rise into the air! Hermione is my new hero, I'd even shake Potter and Weasley's hand for that one." Blaze was gleeful. Molly shot him a look, forcing his smile to waver.

"I would have let him die." Eric still didn't understand why Harry stopped them. Sookie rolled her eyes.

"Of course you would've."

They all made their way out of the tunnel back to Hogwarts, but at the sight of the full moon, Lupin, turned into a werewolf. Sirius responded by turning into the large black dog in order to protect Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Peter took his chance and turned back into a rat running off. As Sirius returns from driving the werewolf into the woods, a swarm of Dementors approach, Harry ran after him, and Hermione ran after Harry. Sirius was paralyzed with fear. The Dementor's prepared to suck the soul out of Harry, Sirius, and Hermione. Harry- whose patronus charm is simply not strong enough faints as out of nowhere a patronus drives the Dementor's away.

Harry and Hermione waken in the hospital wing to hear Snape and Cornelius Fudge discussing the fact that Sirius Black is about to be given the fatal Dementor's Kiss. Harry and Hermione protest, claiming Black's innocence, but to no avail. Dumbledore enters the room, shoo's out the others, and mysteriously suggests that Harry and Hermione need more time. Three turns he tells Hermione. She puts the chain of her necklace over Harry's head and turns the hour-glass back three turns, as she was told. Harry and Hermione are thrust into the past.

"My time at Hogwarts seems painfully dull now." Draco remarked, Blaze nodded agreeing.

"What- how- Hermione, what happened?" Harry was seriously confused. Hermione took his hand and they ran through the castle, she pulled him into a cupboard and closed the door.

"We've gone back in time," Hermione whispered, in the darkness. "Three hours back…"

"But-"

"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think- I think it might be us!" Hermione had her ear pressed against the door. "Footsteps across the hall… yes, I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"

"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"

"Yes," said Hermione, her ear still glued to the cupboard door.

"Where did you get that hourglass thing?"

"It's called a Timeturner," Hermione whispered, "I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day. I've been using it all year to get to my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them that I was a model student, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies… I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see? But Harry, I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"

"There must be something that happened around now he wants us to change.. Dumbledore said we could save more than one innocent life- Hermione, we're going to save Buckbeak!"

Harry pushed open the closet door. The entrance hall was deserted. As quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of the closet and down the stone steps.

"We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"

Harry set off at a sprint, Hermione behind him. They tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses, paused for a moment behind them, then set off again, fast as they could, skirting around the Whomping Willow, tearing toward the shelter of the forest… Safe in the shadows of the trees, Harry turned around; seconds later, Hermione arrived beside him, panting.

"Right," she gasped. "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's… Keep out of sight, Harry."

They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of Hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. They moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. And Harry heard his own voice.

"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry said fervently.

"Let's move along a bit," Hermione whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"

They crept through the trees until they saw the nervous Hippogriff, tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch.

"Now?" Harry whispered.

"No!" said Hermione. "If we steal him now, those Committee people will think Hagrid set him free! We've got to wait until they've seen he's tied outside!"

"That's going to give us about sixty seconds," said Harry. At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.

"That's Hagrid breaking the milk jug," Hermione whispered. "I'm going to find Scabbers in a moment."

"Hermione," said Harry suddenly, "what if we just run in there and grab Pettigrew-"

"No!" said Hermione in a terrified whisper. "Don't you understand? We're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to change time, nobody! You heard Dumbledore, if we're seen."

"She says that now but last month she was ready to use that Timeturner to go back to the battle and save Potter." Draco said dryly.

"What?!" Kingsley, Molly and Poppy all exclaimed.

"Oh- er- never mind." He started watching again ignoring their gazes.

"We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!"

"Harry, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?"

"I'd- I'd think I'd gone mad, or I'd think there was some Dark Magic going on."

"Exactly! You wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourself! Don't you see? Professor McGonagall told me what awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time… Loads of them ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake!"

"Okay!" said Harry. "It was just an idea, I just thought-"

"We're about to come out!" Hermione breathed.

There was a knock on Hagrid's front door. The execution party had arrived. Hagrid turned, around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Harry watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard three pairs of feet retreating. He, Ron, and Hermione had gone. It was now or never.

"Wait here," Harry whispered to Hermione. "I'll do it." Harry darted out from behind his tree, vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch, and approached Buckbeak. Careful not to blink, Harry stared up into Buckbeak's fierce orange eyes once more and bowed. Buckbeak sank to his scaly knees and then stood up again. Harry began to fumble with the knot of rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.

"Come on, Buckbeak," Harry murmured, "come on, we're going to help you. Quietly, quietly…"  
Harry threw all his weight onto the rope, but Buckbeak had dug in his front feet. "Buckbeak, move!" Harry hissed. Harry tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. The Hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. They were still ten feet away from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back door.

Hermione's white face was sticking out from behind a tree. "Harry, hurry!" she mouthed.  
Harry could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. He gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak broke into a grudging trot. They had reached the trees.

"Quick! Quick!" Hermione moaned, darting out from behind her tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make Buckbeak move faster. Harry looked over his shoulder; they were now blocked from sight; they couldn't see Hagrid's garden at all.

"Stop!" he whispered in Hermione's ear. "They might hear us."

Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Hermione, and Buckbeak stood quite still; even the Hippogriff seemed to be listening intently. Silence… then-

"Where is it?" said the reedy voice of the Committee member. "Where is the beast?"

"It was tied here!" said the executioner furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"

"How extraordinary," said Dumbledore. There was a note of amusement in his voice.

"Beaky!" said Hagrid huskily.

"Now what?" whispered Harry, looking around.

"We'll have to hide in here," said Hermione, who looked very shaken. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius's window. He won't be there for another couple of hours, this is going to be difficult." She looked nervously over her shoulder into the depths of the forest. The sun was setting now.

"We're going to have to move," said Harry, thinking hard. "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."

"Okay," said Hermione, getting a firmer grip on Buckbeak's rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, Harry, remember."

"There's Ron!" said Harry suddenly.

"And there we go." Harry muttered. "We're in."

"Here comes Lupin!" said Harry as they saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and halting toward the Willow. Harry looked up at the sky. Clouds were obscuring the moon completely.

"If he'd only grabbed the cloak," said Harry. "It's just lying there…" He turned to Hermione. "If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and-"

"Harry, we mustn't be seen!"

"How can you stand this?" he asked Hermione fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He hesitated. "I'm going to grab the cloak!"

"Harry, no!" Hermione seized the back of Harry's robes not a moment too soon. Just then, they heard a burst of song. It was Hagrid, making his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice, and weaving slightly as he walked. A large bottle was swinging from his hands.

"See?" Hermione whispered. "See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!"

The Hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid again; Harry seized his rope too, straining to hold Buckbeak back. They watched Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. He was gone. Buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. His head drooped sadly. Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.

Harry's fists clenched as they watched Snape skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the cloak and held it up. "Get your filthy hands off it," Harry snarled under his breath.

"Shh!"

Snape seized the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.

"So that's it," said Hermione quietly. "We're all down there… and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again."

She took the end of Buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around the nearest tree, then sat down on the dry ground, arms around her knees. "Harry, there's something I don't understand… Why didn't the Dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming, and then I think I passed out… there were so many of them."

Harry sat down too. He explained what he'd seen; how, as the nearest Dementor had lowered its mouth to Harry's, a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the Dementors to retreat. Hermione's mouth was slightly open by the time Harry had finished.

"But what was it?"

"There's only one thing it could have been, to make the Dementors go," said Harry. "A real Patronus. A powerful one."

"But who conjured it?" Harry didn't say anything. "Didn't you see what they looked like?" said Hermione eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"

"No," said Harry. "He wasn't a teacher."

"But it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those Dementors away… If the Patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? Couldn't you see?"

"Yeah, I saw him," said Harry slowly. "But maybe I imagined it, I wasn't thinking straight I passed out right afterward."

"Who did you think it was?"

"I think-" Harry swallowed, "I think it was my dad."

Harry glanced up at Hermione and saw that her mouth was fully open now. She was gazing at him with a mixture of alarm and pity. "Harry, your dad's- well dead," she said quietly.

"I know that," said Harry quickly.

"You think you saw his ghost?"

"I don't know… no… he looked solid."

"But then-"

"Maybe I was seeing things," said Harry. "But from what I could see it looked like him- I've got photos of him." Hermione was still looking at him worried. "I know it sounds crazy," said Harry flatly. He turned to took at Buckbeak, who was digging his beak into the ground, apparently searching for worms.

The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. Hermione sat with her face turned toward the Willow, waiting. And then, at last, after over an hour…

"Here we come!" Hermione whispered.

She and Harry got to their feet. Buckbeak raised his head. They saw Lupin, Ron, and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Then came Hermione… then the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upward. Next came Harry and Sirius. They all began to walk toward the castle.

"Harry," Hermione muttered, she knew exactly what he was thinking, "we've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do."

"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again." said Harry quietly.

"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" snapped Hermione. "There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius; we're not supposed to be doing anything else!"

"All right!" He hissed.

"There goes Lupin," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming."

"Hermione!" said Harry suddenly. "We've got to move!"

"We mustn't, I keep telling you-"

"Not to interfere! Lupin's going to run into the forest, right at us!" Hermione gasped.

"Quick!" she moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The Dementors will be coming any moment."

"Back to Hagrid's!" Harry said. "It's empty now- come on!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

They ran as fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind could hear the werewolf howling.

The cabin was in sight; Harry skidded to the door, wrenched it open, Hermione and Buckbeak flashed past him; Harry threw himself in after them and bolted the door. Fang the boarhound barked loudly.

"Shh, Fang, it's us!" said Hermione, hurrying over and scratching his ears to quieten him. "That was really close!" she said to Harry.

"Yeah…"

Harry was looking out of the window. Buckbeak seemed very happy to find himself back inside Hagrid's house. He lay down in front of the fire, folded his wings contentedly, and seemed ready for a good nap.

"I think I'd better go outside again, you know," said Harry slowly. "I can't see what's going on we won't know when it's time." Hermione looked up. Her expression was suspicious. "I'm not going to try and interfere," said Harry quickly. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"

"Well… okay, I'll wait here with Buckbeak… but Harry, be careful- there's a werewolf out there, and the Dementor's." She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.

Hermione paced wringing her hands after he left. "Ugh, I can't just sit here with him out there- come on Buckbeak!" She arrived at the lake just as Harry yelled-

"EXPECTO PATRONUM! " Out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. It was galloping silently away from him, across the black surface of the lake. It lower its head and charge at the swarming Dementor's. It was a stag. Prongs.

"What did you do?" Hermione said fiercely. "You said you were only going to keep a lookout!"

"I just saved all our lives…" said Harry.

"Did anyone see you?"

"Yes, I saw me- but I thought I was my dad! It's okay!"

"Harry, I can't believe it… You conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those Dementors! That's very, very advanced magic." She smiled at him.

"I knew I could do it this time because I'd already done it. Does that make sense?"

"I don't know. Harry, look Snape!"

Together they peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, and Black onto them. A fourth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.

"Right, it's nearly time," said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing."

"Do you reckon he's up there yet?" said Harry, checking his watch. He looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the West Tower.

"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"

"McNair!" said Harry. "The executioner! He's gone to get the Dementors! This is it, Hermione."

Hermione put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Harry lifted her up by her hips. Then he placed his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush and climbed up in front of her. He pulled Buckbeak's rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar like reins.

"Ready?" he whispered to Hermione. "You'd better hold on to me." He smiled and nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. Harry gripped his flanks with his knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully beneath them. Hermione was clinging to Harry very tight around the waist; she was muttering, "Oh, no — I don't like this oh, I really don't like this." Into his back.

"He's there!" Harry said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the window. He reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings fell, was able to tap sharply on the glass.

Sirius looked up his jaw dropped. He leapt from his chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, gripping the back of Harry's robes with her left hand.

"Alohomora!"

"How- how?"

"Get on there's not much time," said Harry, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here- the Dementor's are coming McNair's gone to get them."

Sirius placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the Hippogriff behind Hermione.

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower come on."

The Hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once.

"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."

"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" croaked Sirius.

"He's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick go!"

"How can I ever thank-"

"GO!" Harry and Hermione shouted together.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are truly your father's son, Harry." The Hippogriff took off into the air… He and his rider became smaller and smaller as Harry gazed after them, then a cloud drifted across the moon. They were gone.

"Harry!"

Hermione was tugging at his hand, staring at her watch. "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us before Dumbledore locks the door."

"Okay," said Harry, wrenching his gaze from the sky, "let's go." They made it back just in time.

On the train ride home, Harry received an owl from Sirius that contained a Hogsmeade permission letter, words of confirmation that he is safe in hiding with Buckbeak and that he was, in fact, the sender of the Firebolt.

"Told ya' so." Hermione smiled triumphantly.

**I know this is a really long chapter but I always thought the 3rd book was important, and it's one of my fav HP books. Next chapter will be books 4, 5, & 6. Well if all goes as planed. **


	17. Into the Rabbit Hole part 3

Eric felt a pull on his bond to Godric. It had been so long since his maker summoned him that Eric had almost forgotten what it felt like. He rose not wanting to keep Godric waiting, and made his way to the pixie's room. Godric was sitting at the edge of her bed, he was about six inches shorter than Eric's six foot four inches. Still very tall for the time he was born, and at least seven inches taller than his tiny mate- but his feet could hardly touch the floor sitting on the tall bed. It would be the epitome foolishness to underestimate him because of his youthful looks, or size- Godric as one of the oldest vampires, was one of the strongest. But every once in a while it still surprised Eric how young he appeared, even after a thousand years of knowing him.

'Shut the door behind you Eric.' Eric did as he was told before kneeling in front of his maker.

'Is there something you wish of me?' Godric looked Eric over in his submissive position.

'There's no need for that.' He gestured to the chair. 'We must talk about your King, and Victor Madden.' Eric stiffened. 'Victor did not take me because I am your maker- at least that was not the main reason. Last year I was in Vegas meeting an old acquaintance, he was entertaining several guests. A young vampire- she couldn't be older than five hundred years, refused to keep her hands to herself. After turning down her advances countless times it became tiresome. Needless to say she is no more.'

'You killed a woman for wanting to bed you?' Eric laughed. Godric gave him a look saying exactly how funny he thought the situation was, and Eric sobered at once.

'I do not like being touched by those I have not permitted to do so.'

'Of course forgive me.' He bowed his head, Godric waved away his apology.

'The problem is she was one of your King's favorite lovers, and his child.' Eric looked up at once. 'As you know vampire law states when a child is murdered the maker can request a trial to be ruled over by the area's King. Which will make him my accuser and judge since I killed her in his kingdom.' Eric stood, his chair tipped over crashing to the floor. He started pacing and muttering in an old form of Swedish. 'Calm yourself child.'

'He is going to order your death, and you ask calm of me?'

'Indeed I do. You see I have no desire to die, there for I will not. But they will try sooner or later. You can not seek revenge on Victor Madden for orchestrating my abduction just yet Eric. I feel your desire for his death, but you must not act. Now I have a question for you my warrior, do you desire a crown?' Godric smirked at the astounded look on Eric's face.

'You plan to kill the King, and you want me to take his place.' Eric looked thoughtful. Truthfully he never wanted to be king, he enjoyed being sheriff, but if the King demanded Godric's death he will have to be taken care of. Which would leave Louisiana in a state of chaos- again. 'If the King must die I will take the crown, simply to keep the state out of ruin, or civil war.'

'The King will die, his attempt may have brought me my princess, but that does not forgive his foolishness.' Hermione stirred causing both vampires to look at her. She was of course still unconscious, but she reached out and touched Godric's arm- sighing.

'It's as if she knows you were talking about her.' Eric was staring at her beautiful face, she looked so peaceful, nothing like her expression while awake.

'I suspect it's the imprint bond.' Godric looked at his child staring at his mate. 'You desire her.' Eric looked away form her to Godric.

'She is beautiful, brave, loyal, and powerful if she belonged to any other I would take her for myself but...'

'But she does not belong to another, she belongs to me- as I belong to her.' His voice was kind, but there was a steely note behind his words. 'Back to what I was saying before, the King will die- as will Victor Madden, but the timing must be right. As of right now they are of little concern first I will see my mate well. But you must heed me on this, you will not act against Madden in till the time comes.'

'Of course, I will do anything you ask of me. Once she is well we can form a plan- Forgive me for asking, but why did you want me to witness her memories?' The question sprang from his mouth as if he could not hold it back, Godric smiled.

'When she wakes she will be very angry, should she desire it all of them,' he nodded to the door, 'will be glamoured. I hope she does not- I think it will be good for some of the people close to her to know what haunts her mind. But should she chose so they will all be forced to forget- having another vampire I can trust will be helpful should that be the case.' Eric nodded.

'Sookie can not be glamoured.'

'Not by a vampire. But I'm sure the Price will help with that.' Godric smirked. 'It is only a few hours before the dawn, you should return to Shreveport. Tell them,' he nodded to the door again, 'we can resume with the rest of her memories tomorrow an hour after sunset. I wish for a few hours with my mate before the sun takes me.' Eric nodded.

'I will be here as quickly as I can, I must make an appearance at Fangtasia, after that I will come straight away.' Eric stood looking one last time at his maker and his mate before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Godric woke three hours before sundown with Hermione sprawled across his chest. Her face in the crook of his neck- he laughed. 'Your body betrays you my love.' Her smell was so intoxicating his fangs descended, but he would not drink without her permission. So he just lay there, twirling one of her curls around his finger, and listening to her breathing and heartbeat. He told her of his human life, the warrior training he received as a young boy, his mother- who would sing to him, and give him berries and sweet cream. How harsh and demanding his father was, accepting nothing but the best. The small village he grew up in- and stories of the gods. All to soon there was a knock at the door. The healer walked in muttering about having to knock on her patients door, and wait for a vampire to grant her entrance.

'She will have to lay flat,' Godric sighed. He did not want to remove her from his arms- but it had to be done, so he kissed her hairline and gently pushed her onto her back.

'What are those?' She was pouring potions into Hermione's mouth.

'Nourishment, since she can not eat. The blue one is so her muscles don't stiffen up from lack of use. And the light pink is Dreamless Sleep potion, I do not want her mind stressed as I add the memories back.' Godric nodded. 'I'm going to give her the third batch back in a moment.'

'Is everyone here?'

'All but the vampire- the other vampire.' Godric nodded again, Eric would be there soon- he could feel him getting closer.

'He will be here in moments.'

'Your idea of moments, or mine?' She raised an eyebrow.

'Yours.' Godric laughed.

When Poppy and Godric entered the sitting room Eric was there with the others, once again sucking on a pop, he had a case of TruBlood with him and handed Godric one. There was also a man Godric did not know- he was medium hight, slightly plump around the middle, and his red hair was thinning. Godric assumed this was Molly Weasley's husband. He walked over to Godric.

'Hello, I am Arthur Weasley- you must be Godric.'

'Indeed I am, are you planing on watching my mate's memories as well?' His voice didn't betray it- but Godric wasn't sure he wanted someone else viewing her memories. He thought to many people were baring witness as it was.

'Oh no I don't think so. I thought I might sit with her while you lot take care of that. I'm sure they are very... interesting, but I prefer to remain on her good side.' He chuckled. Godric looked the man over. Normally he would not allow another man to be alone in her bedroom while she was defenseless- but he could tell this man had a fathers love for his mate. So he nodded.

'I thank you, I do not like leaving her alone.' Arthur nodded smiling, and made his way down the hall to Hermione's room.

'Thank you, he wasn't sure you would allow him to sit with her.' Molly was smiling brightly.

'Normally I would not, but I can see he loves her as a parent, he will not harm her.' Molly nodded giving him one last smile and squeezed his forearm.

'Are we ready then?' McGonagall looked very tired.

They were standing in a camping ground- it was night and people were dressed in sleep clothes. There was screaming and people running in all directions. Men in masks were dangling an unconscious family in the air- including two small children. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran into the woods, they came to a clearing and stopped. Someone yelled a spell near by and a giant green skull with a snake coming out of the mouth was hovering in the night sky. Several people appeared in the clearing and shot spells at them. Harry managed to pull Ron and Hermione to the ground before any could hit. They listened to the conversation that ensued.

'It's his mark Harry, 'You-Know-Who's.' The Dark Mark.' Draco absently mindedly rubbed his left forearm.

In the Great Hall, Dumbledore announced that the Triwizard Tournament will take place that year at Hogwarts. He went on to explain the rules, and the required age to enter. The ceiling depicting the sky broke into a violent thunder storm. A man with a severely scared face, and an over sized bright blue eye limped into the hall shouting a spell to calm the storm. Dumbledore introduced him as Mad-Eye Moody the new teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Blaze and George laughed so hard tears streamed down their faces when Mad-Eye turned Draco into a ferret for trying to attack Harry while his back was turned. Draco punched his best mate and told him to 'shut up already.' In their first class, Moody was teaching Gryffindor the three unforgivable curses- Imperius, Cruciatus, and Avada Kedavra- or killing curse. A few lessons later Harry managed to successfully ward off the Imperius Curse on his second attempt.

'Amazing.' Kingsley's mouth was all but hanging open. Molly, Poppy, and McGonagall all nodded.

Blaze and Draco rolled their eyes at Hermione founding S.P.E.W- a society that advocates freeing house-elves. She asked Harry and Ron to wear and sell badges. Ron argued but Harry just smiled and nodded, taking his badge with out comment. Sookie thought it was admirable that she wanted to free the little creatures.

When the delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived, Ron was thrilled to see Viktor Krum- the famous quidditch player. On Halloween night, the Goblet of Fire spit out the names of the champions who will compete in the tournament- Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, and Viktor Krum. As Dumbledore was talking to the students the Goblet released another name... Harry Potter. Mass chaos ensued, since Harry was too young. But the Goblet's decision was final, and Harry was obligated to compete. Gryffindor House was triumphant, Hermione was scared for him, and Ron was sullen and envious. The next morning Hermione was having breakfast when Ron arrived- without Harry.

'Where is Harry?'

'Catching up on his beauty sleep- I expect he'll need it for all the photo's he'll have to take for the Prophet.' Hermione raised her eyebrows at him.

'He did not put his name into the Goblet.'

'How do you know that?' He asked defiantly glaring at her.

'Didn't you see his face when Dumbledore announced his name? He was shocked, besides Dumbledore drew the age line himself.'

'Figures you would stick up for him.'

'Figures you would get jealous and act like a prat.' She wrapped some toast in a napkin and left the table. Draco laughed.

Hermione and Harry were walking by the lake as Harry ate the toast. They talked about who could've put his name in, and why they would do it. Harry thought someone just wanted to see him make a fool of himself, but Hermione was worried someone wanted to harm him- people often died in the tournament. She convinced him to write to Sirius. When his reply came Harry told Hermione, Sirius was coming to talk to him in Gryffindor common room, at the end of the week. George laughed as they planed to set off dung bombs to clear out the common room if they needed to. McGonagall and Molly shot him unamused looks.

Hermione was walking down the village lane in Hogsmede seemingly alone. Only she wasn't, she was complaining to Harry that she looked like a nutter talking to herself, and asked him to take the cloak off- which he refused to do. As they were sitting in the Three Broomsticks Hagrid and Mad-Eye approached them. Hagrid invited Harry for a late night walk. This confused Harry and Hermione, she told him to tell Hagrid he couldn't make it- since he had to talk to Sirius that night. But Harry was convinced he could do both.

The next morning Harry told her the first task was going to be dragons, and Sirius's warning that Karkaroff- the head of Durmstrang, was a Death Eater and is possibly still dangerous. Hermione paled.

'I may have to have a word with Hagrid.' McGonagall scowled.

'Dragons exist?' Eric and Sookie asked. Surprisingly it was Godric who answered.

'Yes- vicious creatures, I came across one not long before I found you Eric. It almost burned me to ash.'

'They are rather unpleasant.' Kingsley agreed.

Next Harry was telling Hermione about his encounter with Mad-Eye, and his suggestion that Harry use his broom. Flashes of Harry and Hermione spending hours practicing the summoning charm over and over. When he finally had it Hermione jumped into his arms. He squeezed her before setting her down, they looked into each-others eyes before awkwardly stepping apart.

'Aww.' Sookie was smiling at their awkwardness, and Hermione's clearing of her throat.

The day of the first task Hermione was a mess. She paced the entrance hall wringing her hands and biting her lip near bleeding. When she could take no more she made her way to the champion's tent. She spoke to Harry through the back flap before busting in, and once again jumping into his arms- just as a reporter sapped a picture. When Dumbledore and the judges arrived Hermione had to leave. She made her way to the stands, taking a seat in the front row. She was so preoccupied, she didn't notice Ron take the seat beside her. Her legs were bouncing up and down, and she was very pale.

'Calm down he'll be fine.' She looked over noticing who spoke.

'Easy for you to say, I haven't turned my back on our best friend Ronald.' Ron looked down ashamed.

When it was finally Harry's turn Hermione was digging her fingernails into her cheeks so hard they were covered in little crescent moons. When the dragon caught him with it's tail, cutting open his arm Hermione jumped up taking a step forward as if she was about to jump into the arena. Ron pulled her back into her seat- tho he to was now nervous and pale. When he got past the dragon, capturing the golden egg Hermione and Ron ran from the stands to the tent. Ron and Harry reunited as he was receiving his marks.

'He is good at flying.' Eric commented.

'Yes he was.' Molly corrected sadly.

'The first time he was ever on a broom I saw him take a fifty foot dive catching a see through ball, and pulling up just before he hit the ground. Best seeker Gryffindor house has ever had.' McGonagall was bursting with pride just as she was the day of the task.

Flashes- Hermione studying in the library, under the constant gaze of Viktor Krum. Krum nervously asking her to the ball. Ron asking her as a last resort. Hermione looking beautiful- descending the stairs, and Harry's mouth falling open when he saw her.

'She's beautiful. And she looks so happy.' Sookie gave a watery smile.

'Yes.' Godric, Eric, and Blaze all agreed.

During breakfast in the Great Hall, Hermione was reading the Prophet furiously. She was outraged Rita Skeeter told the wizarding world she was a fame seeker dating both Harry and Viktor. A flock of owl's arrived bringing her hate mail from Harry's many admirers- one containing Bubotuber pus. Her hands broke out in painful boils- she whimpered with tears in her eyes before running out.

The nights leading up to the second task Hermione, Harry, and Ron spent all their time in the library. Mad-Eye told Ron and Hermione McGonagall wanted to see them in her office. When they arrive McGonagall explained they will be put under a stasis spell and placed at the bottom of the lake as the champions treasures.

'She was originally supposed to be Harry's treasure. But Krum's older brother couldn't come, so when he asked Hermione to the ball she was replaced as his, and Harry got Ron.' McGonagall added mater of factly.

When Hermione came out of the lake with Krum he asked her to spend the summer with him, but she seemed to be hardly listening. When Harry, Ron, and Fleur's little sister broke the surface, she ran to the edge of the dock forgetting all about Viktor. Molly smiled watching Percy rush into the lake to get Ron out. Hermione went straight to Harry taking the blanket off her own shoulders and wrapping it around him- she kissed his forehead. Then she proceeded to tell him how foolish it was of him to wait, when Dumbledore obviously wouldn't let any of the hostages drown.

'Of course Potter the hero wouldn't leave people at the bottom of the lake, it is surprising that Hermione thought he should've tho.'

'So she says, but I'd bet my wand arm if she was in his place she would've done the same.' Draco scoffed sure Kingsley was right. Gryffindor's and their bloody hero complexes.

Harry was telling Ron and Hermione about the maze for the third task, and Krum pulling him into the forest to ask if he was romantically involved with Hermione. When a disheveled Mr. Crouch appeared from the forest, speaking to trees and madly demanding to see Dumbledore. Hermione Harry and Ron spent hours practicing spells. Draco, Blaze, Kingsley, and Eric all laughed when Ron was stunned over and over. And Hermione told him he should try harder to fall on the pillows. Hermione continued to push Harry to learn more spells.

'Mione I think I've got it, if I try to learn one more spell my brain will explode.' Harry rubbed his head.

'Harry, we have no idea what will be in the maze. You are not taking this serious enough, people die in this tournament.' Harry rolled his eyes.

'I'm not going to die.'

'Damn right you're not. I don't care if we have to train every hour of the day, or if your 'brain explodes,' you will have a sufficient amount of defensive spells mastered even if we have to sweat blood to ensure it!' Wisely he did not argue further.

The evening of the task, the four champions enter the maze, Hermione was wearing Harry's Potter jersey, with his name written on her cheek. She looked just as nervous as she did the during the first task, Mrs. Weasley tried calming her to no avail. She was on the edge of her seat ready to run into the maze herself if there was any indication Harry was in trouble. When the first red sparks went into the air she held her breath. Breathing out a 'thank the gods,' when it was Fleur who was carried out on a stretcher. When Viktor was carried out the Hogwarts students went wild, knowing who ever won it would be a Hogwarts victory.

An hour later two bodies landed on the grass, neither moving. A crowd gathered around them blocking them from view, as whispers of 'he's dead,' went through the stands. There was nothing anyone could've done to keep Hermione in her seat, she even stunned Percy for trying- she ran through the crowd to get to Harry. When she broke through she saw Cedric Diggory, dead in the grass. Her face look so relieved, which quickly turned to guilt as she watched his mother cry over his body. Harry was no where to be seen.

Hermione and the Weasley's were waiting in the hospital wing for Harry. Hermione and Mrs. Weasley were demanding to see Harry, when he entered through the double doors. Dumbledore told them all not to question Harry that night- that he needed rest. Mrs. Weasley helped him into bed before hugging him for a long moment, when she pulled away there were tears on both their faces. Molly wiped her eyes watching her memory self comfort Harry, that was the moment she realized he saw her as a mother as much as she saw him as a son. Minerva put a hand on her shoulder, Molly gave her a tearful nod and pulled herself together.

During an argument between Cornelius Fudge and Dumbledore, in which Dumbledore tried- unsuccessfully, to persuade Fudge to take precautions against Voldemort. Fudge refused to believe that it was possible he returned. Harry woke and joined the argument. When no progress was made Fudge gave him his winnings and left.

Harry explained exactly what happened in the maze, and graveyard to a horrified Ron and Hermione before he was released from the hospital wing. On the train Hermione showed Harry and Ron a beetle in a jar- Rita Skeeter in animagus form.

'She captured and blackmailed the reporter.' Eric laughed.

'That's sick, he used Harry's blood to steal his mothers protection. Evil bastard doesn't deserve something so precious running through his veins!' Sookie was livid at the thought of a mothers sacrifice being used against her son by her murder. Her cheeks were stained red with indignation and fury.

'Voldemort was a psychopath, with no moral spectrum. There was no way he could understand what a powerfully beautiful, and terrible gift that was. If he could he would't have been who he was.' Sookie looked sharply at McGonagall feeling like she was defending him with some 'not guilty by reason of insanity,' bullshit. 'I agree with you Ms. Stackhouse, he was evil in it's purest form. Which is why we spent so long fighting against him. Both times he came to power.'

'I was always a bit of jealous of Potter.' Everyone looked at Blaze. 'You know- the fame, the attention, he could've had any girl he wanted. But his life sucked Merlin's saggy left ba-'

'Blaze Zabini!' Mrs. Weasley cut him off.

'Sorry Mrs. Weasley. I'm just sayin'- being Harry Potter was not nearly as glamorous as I expected it to be.' Draco looked at his best mate shocked, he to was always jealous of Potter. It's why he hated him from the moment he refused Draco's friendship on the train to Hogwarts first year. But not even Veritaserum would drag that information out of him.

'He was a warrior, I would have been proud to fight beside him in my human life.'

'As would I.' Eric agreed.

'Yes he was very brave, but he still got himself nearly killed every year. I had a special bed aside just for him.' Poppy looked disapproving.

'Well it wasn't his fault that piece of scum wanted him dead.' Sookie defended.

'The past is the past we can not change it. Why don't we move on with the memories.' Kingsley said diplomatically.

They were standing in a twin bedroom when the door opened and Harry walked in. Hermione threw herself on to him in a hug that nearly knocked him flat.

'HARRY! Ron, he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Are you all right? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless - but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh, we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us - the Dementor's! When we heard - and that Ministry hearing - it's just outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's a provision in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations -'Godric chuckled at his mate.

'Let him breathe, Hermione,' Ron smiled. Still beaming, Hermione let go of Harry. 'Hermione was going spare, she kept saying you'd do something stupid if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Dumbledore made us -'

'- swear not to tell me,' said Harry. 'Yeah, Hermione's already said. So why's Dumbledore been so keen to keep me in the dark? Did you - er - bother to ask him at all?'

'We told Dumbledore we wanted to tell you what was going on,' said Ron. 'We did, mate. But he's really busy now, we've only seen him twice since we came here and he didn't have much time, he just made us swear not to tell you important stuff when we wrote, he said the owls might be intercepted.'

'He could still've kept me informed if he'd wanted to,' Harry said shortly. 'You're not telling me he doesn't know ways to send messages without owls.'

Hermione glanced at Ron and then said, 'I thought that, too. But he didn't want you to know anything.'

'Maybe he thinks I can't be trusted,'

'Don't be thick,' said Ron, looking highly disconcerted.

'Or that I can't take care of myself.'

'Of course he doesn't think that!' Hermione said anxiously.

'So how come I have to stay at the Dursleys' while you two get to join in everything that's going  
on here? How come you two are allowed to know everything that's going on?'

'We're not!" Ron interrupted. "Mum won't let us near the meetings, she says we're too young -'

'SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE,  
HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE  
DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU TWO'VE EVER  
MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT - WHO SAVED THE SORCERER'S  
STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED BOTH YOUR SKINS FROM THE  
DEMENTOR'S? WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM  
HIM? ME!'

Ron was standing there with his mouth half-open, clearly stunned and at a loss for anything to  
say, while Hermione looked on the verge of tears. Godric growled.

'BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER  
TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?'

'Harry, we wanted to tell you, we really did -' Hermione began.

'CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN  
OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR–'

'Well, he did -'

'FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS  
TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON -'

'We wanted to -'

'I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP  
HERE TOGETHER -'

'No, honest -'

'Harry we're really sorry!' said Hermione desperately, her eyes now sparkling with tears. 'You're absolutely right, Harry - I'd be furious if it was me!'

Harry glared at her, breathing deeply, then turned away from them again, pacing up and  
down. Hedwig hooted glumly from the top of the wardrobe. There was a long pause, broken only  
by the mournful creak of the floorboards below Harry's feet.

'What is this place, anyway?' he shot at Ron and Hermione.

'Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix,' said Ron at once.

'Is anyone going to bother telling me what the Order of the Phoenix -?'

'It's a secret society,' said Hermione quickly. 'Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it. It's the  
people who fought against You-Know-Who last time.'

'Who's in it?' said Harry, coming to a halt with his hands in his pockets.

'Quite a few people -'

'We've met about twenty of them,' said Ron, 'but we think there are more.'

Harry glared at them. 'Well?' he demanded, looking from one to the other.

'Well what?'

'Voldemort!' said Harry furiously, and both Ron and Hermione winced. 'What's happening?  
What's he up to? Where is he? What are we doing to stop him?'

'We've told you, the Order don't let us in on their meetings,' said Hermione nervously. 'So we  
don't know the details - but we've got a general idea,' she added hastily, seeing the look on  
Harry's face.

'Fred and George have invented Extendable Ears, see,' said Ron. 'They're really useful.'

'Extendable -?'

'Ears, yeah. Only we've had to stop using them lately because Mum found out and went berserk.  
Fred and George had to hide them all to stop Mum binning them. But we got a good bit of use  
out of them before Mum realized what was going on. We know some of the Order are following  
known Death Eaters, keeping tabs on them, you know -'

'Some of them are working on recruiting more people to the Order -' said Hermione.

'And some of them are standing guard over something,' said Ron. 'They're always talking about guard duty.'

'Couldn't have been me, could it?' said Harry sarcastically.

'Oh, yeah,' said Ron, with a look of dawning comprehension.

They spent the time leading up to Harry's trial cleaning Sirius's old house, and after the trial they returned to Hogwarts, where they learn Dolores Umbridge- an employee of Fudge, will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Meanwhile, the Daily Prophet, continued printing untrue and unfair stories about Harry. Many of their classmates were whispering about him behind his back, but Hermione told him to ignore them and concentrate on his studies, since they would be taking their O.W.L.s that year.

'What are O.W.L.s?'

'Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. All fifth years take them.'

Umbridge refused to teach the students how to perform Defense spells. Before long, Fudge appoints her High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. In desperation Hermione, suggests they form their own Defense Against the Dark Arts group, which she believes Harry should teach. At first he got angry with her, but after a few weeks he agreed. They call their group the D.A., or Dumbledore's Army. Twenty-five other students sign up, they meet as often as possible to learn and practice Defense spells.

'He was a fantastic teacher. Everyone of those students passed their Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.' McGonagall was very proud as she watched him encourage, and teach the students.

Harry, Fred, and George made a plan so Harry can talk to Sirius, Hermione begged him to reconsider worried he'll be caught but he does it anyway. After a quidditch game which was Ron's first on the team- Draco starts a fight with Harry and George. He mocks Ron with the song he made up, 'Weasley is our king.' Hermione tells them to ignore him when she made her way onto the pitch.

'Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?' he said to Harry. 'I've never seen a worse Keeper… but  
then he was born in a bin… did you like my lyrics, Potter? We wanted to write another couple of verses!' Draco called, 'But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly - we wanted to sing about his mother, see-' Draco could not bring himself to look at Mrs. Weasley, so he looked at the floor throughly ashamed as if he wanted it to open up and swallow him.

'Talk about sour grapes,' said Angelina, casting Draco a disgusted look.

'- we couldn't fit in useless loser either - for his father, you know -'

Fred and George seemed to realized what Draco was talking about, they stiffened, looking round at Draco.

'Leave it!' said Angelina at once, taking Fred by the arm. 'Leave it, Fred, let him yell, he's just  
sore he lost, the jumped-up little -'

'- but you like the Weasleys, don't you, Potter?' Draco sneered. 'Spend holidays there  
and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been  
dragged up by Muggles, even the Weasleys' hovel smells okay -'

Harry grabbed hold of George. Meanwhile, it was taking the combined efforts of Angelina,  
Alicia and Katie to stop Fred leaping on Draco, who was laughing openly.

'Or perhaps,' said Draco, leering as he backed away, 'you can remember what your mother's  
house stank like, Potter, and Weasleys pigsty reminds you of it-'

A second later both Harry and George were sprinting towards Draco. Hermione screamed as Harry drew back the fist clutching the Snitch and sank it into Draco's stomach.

'Harry! HARRY! GEORGE! NO!'

'Ah, memories eh Malfoy?' Draco looked up, but not at George, he sent a pleading look to Mrs. Weasley. She gave him a sad smile and nodded her head.

'You were quite the little asshole Draco.' Sookie remarked, causing Eric to snort, and Godric, Kingsley, and Blaze to smile.

'Yeah I know.' He still looked ashamed.

'Thats enough, you can not change the past Draco- all you can do is make better choices in the future.' Molly patted his cheek, he nodded.

'I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them muggle brawling, I was furious.'

'Sorry about that professor.' George winked at her.

Not long after Fred and George waged war on Umbridge, starting with setting off fireworks in the corridors. Everyone laughed as a very harassed looking Umbridge ran through the school trying to get rid of them, only to make the problem worse. After the swamp, when the twins were caught, they watched them fly away hailed as hero's.

'That was awesome.' Sookie smiled at George- he gave her a little bow.

Harry was telling Hermione his dreams of walking down the dark corridor continued, but he always wakes before he gets to the door. Hermione tried once again to convince him to tell Dumbledore- again he says Dumbledore has more important things to worry about. The first morning of the winter hols Hermione woke to find that Harry and the Weasley's were all gone. She ran through the castle coming to McGonagall's office and knocked. When McGonagall answered she pushed her way inside demanding to know where they were. McGonagall told her all about Harry's 'dream,' and the attack he witnessed on Mr. Weasley. Hermione looked horrified, and told McGonagall she would write to her parents telling them she could not make it home for break. McGonagall tried to tell her everyone was fine, and she should spend time with her parents, but Hermione would hear nothing of it. So McGonagall agreed to have the Knight Bus pick her up in Hogsmede the next day and take her to headquarters.

Ron, Ginny, and the twins explained how they all listened to Moody say he thought Voldemort was possessing Harry on the extendable ears the day before. Since then he's been locked in Sirius's mothers room with Buckbeak, refusing to come out or let anyone in. Hermione made her way up the stairs. The door was locked but that only stopped her for a moment. When she opened the door the light from the hall illuminated the mostly dark room, and there against the far wall was a very tired looking Harry Potter.

'Your supposed to be skiing with your parents.' She shrugged and joined him on the dirty floor.

'I told them everyone serious about O.W.L.s were staying at Hogwarts to study.'

'Lying Hermione? Thats not like you.' He raised an eyebrow at her.

'And hiding isn't like you. Why are you up here Harry? You haven't left in over a day. You must be hungry.' Now he shrugged.

'How can I face them? I feel tainted, like me even being here is putting everyone in danger- what if he is possessing me Hermione?' He looked at her with fear in his eyes. She took his hand.

'He's not, don't you remember when Ginny was possessed by the diary? She said she was losing time, waking up in strange places with no memory of being there. You saw what happened in a dream Harry, you never left Gryffindor tower that night. Ron told me- he saw you thrashing about in your bed. We've always known there was a connection between you and Voldemort through your scar. You've had dreams like this before, last year about Barty Crouch Jr. It must be really scary to have a connection to such an evil person's mind. But Harry thats all it is- it's not you doing those awful things, please remember that. Don't let him isolate you from the people that love you.' She stood and held her hand out for him. He sighed grabbing her hand and stood as well.

'What would I do with out you Hermione?' He kissed her forehead.

'Lucky for you, you'll never have to find out. Your stuck with me Harry Potter- always.'

'She made that look so easy.' Molly had tried for hours to get him to join the others.

'It was easy... for her.' Sookie smiled at the teenagers who obviously had feelings for each other, only neither realized it.

Their first D.A meeting back from winter hols Dobby came with a warning- Umbridge was coming. The students scattered. Harry took out his cloak and wrapped it around Hermione.

'What about you?' He smiled and winked at her.

'Don't worry about me.' He pulled the flap over her head.

'Fat lot of good that does us.' Ron scowled at Harry.

'We don't all fit under anymore, time to put those freakishly long legs to use.'

Most of the students got away, but it did little good. Umbridge managed to get her hands on their members list, sentencing everyone to a months detention writing lines with Blood Quills. Harry and Hermione had many conversations about his Occlumency lessons with Snape. He had difficulty clearing his mind of all thoughts, making it imposable for him to focus on closing his mind off to outside influence. During their History of Magic O.W.L Hermione heard screaming and looked directly at Harry who was on the floor screaming and holding his scar. He ran from the Great Hall, they all watched the emotions war on Hermione's face. She obviously wanted to run after him, but she was Hermione Granger, and she couldn't just leave in the middle of her exam. She locked eyes with Ron, he nodded at her. They both flew through their tests, finishing before anyone else.

'The difference is she got top marks, and he failed. She got top marks in almost every class, she was only bested in one exam Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry beat her.'

'I still remember the morning they got their results she was slightly upset she didn't get all O's.' Molly smiled fondly at the memory. Blaze, Draco, and George all rolled their eyes.

Hermione and Ron ran through the castle looking for Harry. He was at the top of the marble staircase when they found him.

'Harry!' Hermione said at once, looking very frightened. 'What happened? Are you all right?'

'Come with me,' Harry said quickly. 'Come on, I've got to tell you something.'

He led them along the first-floor corridor to an empty classroom,closing the door behind Ron and Hermione the moment they were inside.

'Voldemort's got Sirius.'

'Oh god.' Sookie sighed.

'What?'

'How d'you -?'

'Saw it. Just now. When I fell asleep in the exam.'

'But - but where? How?' Hermione said, whose face was white.

'I dunno how, but I know exactly where. There's a room in the Department of Mysteries full of shelves covered in these little glass balls and they're at the end of row ninety-seven… he's trying to use Sirius to get whatever it is he wants from in there… he's torturing him… says he'll end by killing him!'Harry's voice was shaking, as were his knees. He moved over to a desk and sat down. 'How're we going to get there?' he asked them.

There was a moment's silence. Then Ron said, 'G-get there?'

'Get to the Department of Mysteries, so we can rescue Sirius!' Harry said loudly.

'But - Harry…'Ron said weakly.

'But what? What?' said Harry.

'Harry,'Hermione said in a rather frightened voice, 'er… how… how did Voldemort get into the Ministry of Magic without anybody realizing he was there?'

'How do I know?' Harry bellowed. 'The question is how we're going to get in there!'

'But… Harry, think about this,' Hermione took a step towards him, 'it's five o'clock in  
the afternoon… the Ministry of Magic must be full of workers… how would Voldemort and  
Sirius get in without being seen? Harry… they're probably the two most wanted wizards in  
the world… you think they could get into a building full of Aurors undetected?'

'I dunno, Voldemort used an Invisibility Cloak or something!' Harry shouted. 'Anyway, the  
Department of Mysteries has always been completely empty whenever I've been -'

'You've never been there, Harry,' Hermione said quietly. 'You've dreamed about the place,  
that's all.'

'They're not normal dreams! Even you said so Hermione!' Harry shouted in her face, standing up and taking a step closer to her. Godric took a step closer to the memory of his mate. 'It's just like Ron's dad.'

'He's got a point,' Ron quietly said looking at Hermione.

'But this is just — just sounds unlikely.' Hermione said desperately. 'Harry, how on earth could Voldemort have got hold of Sirius when he's been in Grimmauld Place all the time?'

'Sirius might've cracked and just wanted some fresh air,' Ron, sounded worried. 'He's  
been desperate to get out of that house for ages -'

'But why,' Hermione persisted, 'why on earth would Voldemort want to use Sirius to get the  
weapon, or whatever the thing is?'

'I dunno, there could be loads of reasons!' Harry yelled at her. 'Maybe Sirius is just someone  
Voldemort doesn't care about seeing hurt -'

'You know what, I've just thought of something,' Ron said in a hushed voice. 'Sirius's brother  
was a Death Eater, wasn't he? Maybe he told Sirius the secret of how to get the weapon!'

'Yeah - and that's why Dumbledore's been so keen to keep Sirius locked up all the time!'

'Look, I'm sorry,' cried Hermione, 'but neither of you is making sense, and we've got no proof  
for any of this, no proof Voldemort and Sirius are even there -'

'Hermione, Harry's seen them!'Ron said rounding on her.

'Okay,' she said, looking frightened yet determined, 'I've just got to say this -'

'What?!'

'You… this isn't a criticism, Harry! But you do… sort of… I mean - don't you think you've got  
a bit of a - a -saving-people thing!' He glared at her.

'And what's that supposed to mean, 'a -saving-people thing'?'

'Well… you…' she looked more apprehensive than ever. 'I mean… last year, for instance… in  
the lake… during the Tournament… you shouldn't have… I mean, you didn't need to save that little Delacour girl… you got a bit… carried away…I mean, it was really great of you and everything,'Hermione said quickly, looking positively petrified at the look on Harry's face, 'everyone thought it was a wonderful thing to do -'

'That's funny,' said Harry through gritted teeth, 'because I definitely remember Ron saying I'd  
wasted time acting the hero… is that what you think this is? You reckon I want to act the hero  
again?'

'No, no, no! That's not what I mean at all!'

'Well, spit out what you've got to say, because we're wasting time here!' Harry shouted.

'I'm trying to say - Voldemort knows you, Harry! He took Ginny down into the Chamber of  
Secrets to lure you there, it's the kind of thing he does, he knows you're the - the sort of person  
who'd go to Sirius's aid! What if he's just trying to get you into the Department of Myst—?'

'Hermione, it doesn't matter if he's done it to get me there or not - they've taken McGonagall to  
St. Mungo's, there isn't anyone from the Order left at Hogwarts who we can tell, and if we don't  
go, Sirius is dead!'

'But Harry - what if your dream was - was just that, a dream?' Harry let out a roar of frustration. Hermione actually stepped back from him, looking alarmed. Eric heard the small click of Godric's fangs descending.

'You don't get it!' Harry shouted at her, 'I'm not having nightmares, I'm not just dreaming!  
What d'you think all the Occlumency was for, why d'you think Dumbledore wanted me  
prevented from seeing these things? Because they're REAL, Hermione - Sirius is trapped, I've  
seen him. Voldemort's got him, and no one else knows, and that means we're the only ones who  
can save him, and if you don't want to do it, fine, but I'm going, understand? And if I remember  
rightly, you didn't have a problem with my saving-people thing when it was you I was saving  
from the Dementor's, or -' he rounded on Ron '- when it was your sister I was saving from the  
Basilisk -'

'I never said I had a problem!'Ron said heatedly.

'But Harry, you've just said it,' said Hermione fiercely, 'Dumbledore wanted you to learn to shut these things out of your mind, if you'd done Occlumency properly you'd never have seen this -'

'IF YOU THINK I'M JUST GOING TO ACT LIKE I HAVEN'T SEEN -'

'Sirius told you there was nothing more important than you learning to close your mind!'

'WELL, I EXPECT HE'D SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IF HE KNEW WHAT I'D JUST-'

The classroom door opened. Harry, Ron and Hermione whipped around. Ginny walked in,  
looking curious, closely followed by Luna, who as usual looked as though she had drifted in  
accidentally.

'Hi,' said Ginny uncertainly. 'We recognized Harry's voice. What are you yelling about?'

'Never you mind,' said Harry roughly. Ginny raised her eyebrows.

'There's no need to take that tone with me,' she said coolly, 'I was only wondering whether I  
could help.'

'Well, you can't,'Harry said shortly.

'You're being rather rude, you know,' said Luna serenely. Harry swore and turned away.

'Wait,'Hermione said suddenly. 'Wait… Harry, they can help.' Harry and Ron looked at her.  
'Listen,' she said urgently, 'Harry, we need to establish whether Sirius really has left  
Headquarters.'

'I've told you, I saw -'

'Harry, I'm begging you, please!'Hermione said desperately. 'Please let's just check that Sirius  
isn't at home before we go charging off to London. If we find out he's not there, then I swear I  
won't try to stop you. I'll come, I'll do whatever it takes to try and save him.'

'She's right isn't she, it's a trap?' Molly looked at Eric sadly.

'Yes. She's right.' This made Sookie feel awful, it's one thing to watch three brave teenagers go on a rescue mission, but now she had a helpless feeling in her stomach, knowing their walking into a trap and she could do nothing to stop or warn them.

'Sirius is being tortured NOW!' Harry shouted. 'We haven't got time to waste.'

'But if this is a trick of Voldemort's, Harry, we've got to check, we've got to.'

'How?' Harry demanded. 'How're we going to check?'

'We'll have to use Umbridge's fire and see if we can contact him,' Hermione looked  
positively terrified at the thought. 'We'll draw Umbridge away again, but we'll need lookouts,  
and that's where we can use Ginny and Luna.'

Though clearly struggling to understand what was going on, Ginny said immediately, 'Yeah,  
we'll do it,' and Luna said, 'When you say 'Sirius', are you talking about Stubby Boardman?'  
Nobody answered her.

'Okay,' Harry said aggressively to Hermione, 'Okay, if you can think of a way of doing this quickly, I'm with you, otherwise I'm going to the Department of Mysteries right now.'

'The Department of Mysteries?' said Luna, looking mildly surprised. 'But how are you going to  
get there?'Again, Harry ignored her.

'Right,'Hermione said, twisting her hands together and pacing up and down between the desks. 'Right… well… one of us has to go and find Umbridge and - and send her off in the wrong  
direction, keep her away from her office. They could tell her - I don't know - that Peeves is up to  
something awful as usual.'

'I'll do it,'Ron said at once. 'I'll tell her Peeves is smashing up the Transfiguration department  
or something, it's miles away from her office. Come to think of it, I could probably persuade  
Peeves to do it if I met him on the way.'

It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that Hermione made no objection to the  
smashing up of the Transfiguration department.

'Okay,' she said, her brow furrowed as she continued to pace. 'Now, we need to keep students  
right away from her office while we force entry, or some Slytherins bound to go and tip her off.'

'Luna and I can stand at either end of the corridor,' said Ginny promptly, 'and warn people not to go down there because someone's let off a load of Garrotting Gas.' Hermione looked surprised at the readiness with which Ginny had come up with this lie; Ginny shrugged and said, 'Fred and George were planning to do it before they left.'

'George Weasley!' Mrs. Weasley, ad McGonagall both yelled.

'It's not like we did it.' George defended. Blaze laughed.

'Okay,'Hermione said. 'Well then, Harry, you and I will be under the Invisibility Cloak and we'll sneak into the office and you can talk to Sirius -'

'He's not there, Hermione!'

'I mean, you can - can check whether Sirius is at home or not while I keep watch, I don't think  
you should be in there alone, Lee's already proved the windows a weak spot, sending those  
Nifflers through it.'

'I… okay, thanks,' he muttered.

'Right, well, even if we do all of that, I don't think we're going to be able to bank on more than  
five minutes,' Hermione said, looking relieved that Harry seemed to have accepted the plan, 'not  
with Filch and the wretched Inquisitorial Squad floating around.'

'Five minutes'll be enough c'mon, let's go -'

The plan went well- at first, Luna and Ginny managed to clear out the hall way for Hermione and Harry to get through. Harry used his knife from Sirius to open the door. Hermione's face paled as she listened to the one sided conversation Harry was having with Kreacher confirming Harry's vision. She didn't have long to think however because the office door burst open, and an out of breath Umbridge was standing in the doorway. Hermione raised her wand, but before she could make up her mind weather to attack the 'Professor' or not her wand flew out of her hand. Umbridge went to the fire and pulled Harry out by his hair. Several members of the Inquisitorial Squad entered the office with Ron, Ginny, Luna, and to Harry and Hermione's surprise Neville, all disarmed and slightly bruised. Umbridge questioned Harry but he refused to answer. So she sends Draco to get Snape, who she asks for Veritaserum, but he he had none. Harry tell Snape Voldemort has 'Padfoot,' in the place were it is hidden.

As Umbridge is about to use the Cruciatus curse on Harry Hermione makes up a lie about a weapon Dumbledore had been working on. This succeeds in luring Umbridge out of the castle into the forest with Harry, and Hermione. When the center's arrive Umbridge foolishly insults them, and is taken away into the forest. The center's were about to attack Harry and Hermione as well in till Hagrid's giant brother Grawp shows up distracting the center's so Harry and Hermione can escape. Hermione is so shaken her knees gave out, and Harry had to carry her. Harry starts yelling at Hermione for her plan going so wrong, when Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Luna show up with Harry and Hermione's wands. After arguing with Ginny, Luna, and Neville, Harry gives up. It's decided they will fly to London on thestrals. Harry and Luna are the only two that can see the horses so they help the others. As Harry is about to help Hermione, she looks at him with pleading eyes. He smiled and nodded before picking her up and setting her on the horse, he then climbed on in front of her.

'Am I the only one that finds it amusing the sky fairy is afraid to fly? And also imprints on a vampire with the gift of flight.' Eric laughed.

'You can fly like Eric?' Sookie looked at Godric.

'No Eric can fly like me.'

Watching them fly away was very strange, since Hermione could not see thestrals at this point in her memories. McGonagall explained to Sookie and the vampires that only people who have witnessed death can see the thestrals. So it looked like all of them were straddling air flying through the sky. Hermione was holding Harry so tight, it looked as if she was welded to his back, her arms wrapped around his waist. When they arrived Harry jumped off first and lifted Hermione setting her down beside him. They all squished into a phone booth, which started descending below street level. They ran to the lifts, Harry in the lead. Once inside the DoM they had to try several doors before finding the correct one. Harry ran down the aisles of glass orbs, the others close behind, but Sirius was no where to be seen. Sookie was twisting her hands knowing the trap was about to be sprung. Ron pointed out one of the orbs. It had Harry's name on it. Hermione told him not to touch it, but he didn't listen. The moment he picked it up Death-Eaters came out of nowhere surrounding them.

'Give it to me,' came the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy as he held out his hand

'Where's Sirius?' Harry said.

Several of the Death Eaters laughed; a harsh female voice from the midst of the shadowy figures  
to Harry's left said triumphantly, 'The Dark Lord always knows!'

'Always,' echoed Malfoy softly. 'Now, give me the prophecy Potter.'

'I want to know where Sirius is!'

'I want to know where Sirius is!' mimicked the woman to his left. Molly stiffened, a look of pure fury over took her features.

'You've got him, he's here. I know he is.'

'The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo,' said the woman in a  
horrible, mock baby voice. Ron moved beside Harry.

'Don't do anything,' Harry muttered. 'Not yet -'

The woman who had mimicked him let out a raucous scream of laughter. 'You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!'

'Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix,' Malfoy said softly. 'He has a great weakness for  
heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter.'

'I know Sirius is here, I know you've got him!'

'It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter,' Malfoy said. 'Now give  
me the prophecy, or we start using wands.'

'Go on, then,' Harry said, raising his own wand to chest height. As he did so, the five wands of  
Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna rose on either side of him. But the Death-Eaters did not strike.

'Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt,'Malfoy said coolly.

'Yeah, right! I give you this - prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will  
you?' He laughed.

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the female Death-Eater shrieked: 'Accio proph-'

Harry was ready for her: he shouted 'Protego!' before she had finished her spell, and though  
the glass sphere slipped to the tips of his fingers he managed to cling on to it.

'Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter,' she said, her mad eyes staring through the  
slits in her hood. 'Very well, then -'

'I TOLD YOU, NO!' Lucius Malfoy roared at the woman. 'If you smash it -!'

'You need more persuasion?' she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. 'Very well - take the  
smallest one,' she ordered the Death-Eaters beside her. 'Let him watch while we torture the little  
girl. I'll do it.' Harry stepped sideways so that he was right in front of her, the prophecy held up to his chest.

'You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us,' he told Bellatrix. 'I don't think your  
boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?'

She did not move; she merely stared at him, the tip of her tongue moistening her thin mouth.  
'So,' said Harry, 'what kind of prophecy are we talking about, anyway?'

'What kind of prophecy?' repeated Bellatrix, the grin fading from her face. 'You jest, Harry  
Potter.'

'Nope, not jesting, how come Voldemort wants it?' Several of the Death-Eaters let out low hisses.

'You dare speak his name?' whispered Bellatrix.

'Yeah, I've got no problem with saying Vol-'

'Shut your mouth!' Bellatrix shrieked. 'You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you  
dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare -'

'Did you know he's a half-blood too?'Harry said recklessly. Hermione gave a little moan in his  
ear. 'Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle - or has he been telling  
you lot he's a pure-blood?'

'STUPEF—'

'NO!'

A jet of red light had shot from the end of Bellatrix Lestrange's wand, but Malfoy had deflected  
it; his spell caused hers to hit the shelf a foot to the left of Harry and several of the glass orbs  
there shattered.

'DO NOT ATTACK! WE NEED THE PROPHECY!'

'He dared - he dares -' shrieked Bellatrix incoherently, 'he stands there - filthy half-blood -'

'WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!' bawled Malfoy.

'You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over.' He moved his foot slowly sideways, feeling around for someone else's.

'Do not play games with us, Potter,'Malfoy said.

'I'm not playing games,' he found someone's toes and pressed down upon them a sharp intake of breath behind him told him they were Hermione's.

'What?' she whispered.

'Dumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the  
Department of Mysteries?' Malfoy sneered.

'I - what?' Harry said. 'What about my scar?'

'What?' whispered Hermione more urgently behind him.

'Can this be?' Malfoy said, sounding maliciously delighted; some of the Death Eaters were  
laughing again, and under cover of their laughter, Harry hissed to Hermione, moving his lips as  
little as possible, 'Smash the shelves -'

'Dumbledore never told you?' Malfoy repeated. 'Well, this explains why you didn't come  
earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why -'

'- when I say now-'

'- you didn't come running when he showed you the place where it was hidden in your dreams.  
He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording…'

'Did he?' Harry said. Behind Hermione was passing his message to the others. 'So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?'

'Why?' Malfoy sounded incredulously delighted. 'Because the only people who are permitted to  
retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was  
made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him.'

'And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?'

'About both of you, Potter, about both of you… haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord  
tried to kill you as a baby?'

'Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?' he said quietly, gazing at Lucius Malfoy,  
his fingers tightening over the glass sphere in his hand. 'And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?'

'Get it himself?' shrieked Bellatrix, over a cackle of mad laughter. 'The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?'

'So, he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?' Harry said. 'Like he tried to get Sturgis  
to steal it - and Bode?'

'Very good, Potter, very good…' said Malfoy slowly. 'But the Dark Lord knows you are not  
unintell-'

'NOW!' Harry yelled.

Five different voices behind him bellowed, 'REDUCTO!' Five curses flew in five different  
directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit; the towering structure swayed as a  
hundred glass spheres burst apart, a torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood was now raining down upon the floor.

'RUN!' Harry yelled, as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to fall  
from above. He seized a handful of Hermione's robes and dragged her forwards, holding one  
arm over her head as chunks of shelf and shards of glass thundered down upon them. A Death-Eater lunged forwards through the cloud of dust, and caught Harry by the shoulder; Hermione yelled 'Stupefy!' And the hand released him at once –

They began to sprint in earnest; they could hear footsteps right behind them, Hermione was urging Neville on, the door through which they had come was ajar- they could see the glittering light of the bell jar. They pelted through the doorway, before slamming the door behind them.

'Colloportus!' gasped Hermione and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.

'Where - where are the others?' gasped Harry.

'They must have gone the wrong way!' whispered Hermione, terror in her face.

'Listen!' whispered Neville.

Lucius Malfoy roared, 'Leave Nott, leave him, I say — his injuries will be nothing to the Dark Lord compared to losing that prophecy. Jugson, come back here, we need to organize! We'll split into pairs and search, and don't forget, be gentle with Potter until we've got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary - Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left; Crabbe, Rabastan, go right -Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead - Macnair and Avery, through here - Rookwood, over there - Mulciber, come with me!'

'What do we do?' Hermione asked Harry, trembling from head to foot.

'Well, we don't stand here waiting for them to find us, for a start, let's get away from this door.'

They ran as quietly as they could, past the shimmering bell jar where the tiny egg was hatching and unhatching, towards the exit into the circular hallway at the far end of the were almost there when they heard something large and heavy collide with the door Hermione had charmed shut.

'Stand aside!' said a rough voice. 'Alahomora!'

As the door flew open, Harry, Hermione and Neville dived under desks. They could see the  
bottom of the two Death-Eaters' robes drawing nearer, their feet moving rapidly.

'They might've run straight through to the hall,' said the rough voice.

'Check under the desks,' said another.

They saw the knees of the Death-Eaters bend; poking his wand out from under the desk, Harry  
shouted, 'STUPEFY!'

A jet of red light hit the nearest Death-Eater; he fell backwards into a grandfather clock and  
knocked it over; the second Death Eater, however, had leapt aside to avoid Harry's spell and was  
pointing his own wand at Hermione, who was crawling out from under the desk to get a better  
aim.

'Avada -'

Harry's face was furious, he launched himself across the floor and grabbed the Death-Eater around the knees, causing him to topple and his aim to go awry. Neville overturned a desk in his anxiety to help; and pointing his wand wildly at the struggling pair, he cried: 'EXPELLIARMUS!'

Both Harry's and the Death-Eater's wands flew out of their hands and soared back towards the  
entrance to the Hall of Prophecy; both scrambled to their feet and charged after them, the Death  
Eater in front, Harry hot on his heels, and Neville bringing up the rear, plainly horror struck by  
what he had done.

'Get out of the way, Harry!' yelled Neville. Harry flung himself sideways as Neville took aim again and shouted: 'STUPEFY!'

The jet of red light had flown right over the Death-Eater's shoulder and hit a glass-fronted cabinet on the wall full of variously shaped hour-glasses; the cabinet fell to the floor and burst apart, glass flying everywhere, sprang back up on to the wall, fully mended, then fell down again, and shattered -  
The Death Eater had snatched up his wand, which lay on the floor beside the glittering bell jar.  
Harry ducked down behind another desk as the man turned; his mask had slipped so that he  
couldn't see. He ripped it off with his free hand and shouted: 'STUP-'

'STUPEFY!' Hermione screamed. The jet of red light hit the Death-Eater in the middle of his chest: he froze, his arm still raised, his wand fell to the floor with a clatter and he collapsed backwards towards the bell jar, his head sank through the surface of the bell jar as though it were nothing but a soap bubble and he came to rest, sprawled on his back on the table, with his head lying inside the jar full of glittering wind.

'Accio wand!' cried Hermione. Harry's wand flew from a dark corner into her hand and she  
threw it to him.

'Thanks,' he said. 'Right, let's get out of —'

'Look out!'

All three of them raised their wands again, but none of them struck: they were all gazing, openmouthed and appalled, at what was happening to the man's head. It was shrinking very fast, growing balder and balder, the black hair and stubble retracting into his skull; his cheeks becoming smooth, his skull round and covered with a peachlike fuzz… A baby's head now sat grotesquely on top of the thick, muscled neck of the Death-Eater as he struggled to get up again; but even as they watched, their mouths open, the head began to swell to its previous proportions again; thick black hair was sprouting from the pate and chin…

'It's Time,' said Hermione in an awestruck voice. 'Time…' There was a shout from a room nearby, then a crash and a scream.

'RON?' Harry yelled, turning quickly from the monstrous transformation taking place before  
them. 'GINNY? LUNA?'

'Harry!' Hermione screamed.

The Death-Eater had pulled his head out of the bell jar. His appearance was utterly bizarre, his  
tiny baby's head bawling loudly while his thick arms flailed dangerously in all directions,  
narrowly missing Harry, who had ducked. Harry raised his wand but to everyone's amazement Hermione seized his arm.

'You can't hurt a baby!' Godric, Eric, Blaze, George, and Kingsley all laughed.

'Come on!' he said, and leaving the ugly baby-headed Death-Eater staggering behind them they  
took off for the door that stood open at the other end of the room, leading back into the black  
hallway.

They had run halfway towards it when they saw two more Death-Eaters running across the black room towards them; veering left, they burst instead into a small, dark, cluttered office and slammed the door behind them.

'Collo—' Hermione began, but before she could complete the spell the door had burst open and  
the two Death-Eaters had come hurtling inside.

With a cry of triumph, both yelled: 'IMPEDIMENTA!'

Harry, Hermione and Neville were all knocked backwards off their feet; Neville was thrown over  
the desk and disappeared from view; Hermione smashed into a bookcase and was promptly  
deluged in a cascade of heavy books; the back of Harry's head slammed into the stone wall  
behind him.

'WE'VE GOT HIM!' yelled the Death-Eater nearest Harry. 'IN AN OFFICE OFF—'

'Silencio!' cried Hermione and the man's voice was extinguished. He continued to mouth  
through the hole in his mask, but no sound came out. He was thrust aside by his fellow Death-Eater.

'Petrificus Totalus!' shouted Harry, as the second Death-Eater raised his wand. His arms and legs snapped together and he fell forwards, face down on to the rug at Harry's feet, stiff as a board and unable to move.

'Well done, Ha—' But the Death-Eater Hermione had just struck silent made a sudden slashing movement with his wand; a streak of what looked like purple flame passed right across Hermione's chest. She gave a tiny 'Oh!' of surprise and crumpled on to the floor, where she lay motionless.

'HERMIONE!' Harry fell to his knees beside her as everything went black.

'Wow. That was- that was, wow.' Blaze looked rather pale. Draco was quiet not wanting to draw attention to himself, Godric had been giving him deadly looks. He was afraid what the vampire would do when he saw the memory of Hermione being tortured.

'What happened?'

'The spell she was hit with was a real nasty piece of work- meant to melt the internal organs. Had she not silenced him, she would have died. As it was she spent weeks in the hospital wing.' Poppy looked sickened by what she had witnessed.

'And the fight?' Eric did not like missing the end of the battle.

'We arrived- myself and several others from the Order. A battle ensued, Sirius was killed by Bellatrix just as Dumbledore showed up. Harry went after her for revenge, Voldemort arrived, but before he could harm Harry Dumbledore went to his aid, they dueled. I don't know the exact details. But during the duel the Aurors came, seeing Voldemort. That's when the wizarding world could no longer deny his return.'

'Oh god, Sirius died.' Sookie's heart broke for Harry.

The blackness turned into blurry light, when Hermione's eyes cleared she was in the hospital wing. Ron was in a bed across from her, and Harry was sleeping in a chair with his head resting at the foot of her bed. She tried to sit up, but gasped in pain. Harry woke at once.

'Hermione! Oh thank Merlin!'

'Harry, what happened?' Harry's face crumbled. He told her about the battle, and Sirius's death.

'You were right Hermione, Voldemort did know I'd play the hero. If I had listened to you, you and Ron wouldn't be in here, and Sirius- Sirius..' His voice broke and tears streamed down his face.

'Come here.' She pushed over and patted the bed, he climbed in beside her. 'It wasn't your fault Harry.'

'How can you say that?!' She rested her head on his chest.

'Because it's true. You could never leave someone you love to die Harry, it's not who you are.'

'But I was wrong Hermione!'

'All the evidence pointed to you being right. You can't remove everything good about yourself so Voldemort won't use it against you, you'll be left with nothing. Where was Sirius when you floo called anyway?'

'That evil little elf was working with the Malfoy's he injured Buckbeak to keep Sirius busy in case I checked. I should have listened to you. Now the only family I had left is dead.'

'Harry this was not your fault!'

'But-'

'No Harry please- please listen to me. You could not have known, don't you see? They had everything worked out. Blame Voldemort for being evil enough to use your love for Sirius, one of the last links you had to your parents against you. Blame the Malfoy's for being the scum they are, and going along with his atrocious plan. Even blame the Order, if they had told you what Voldemort was after we could have been prepared for this. But do not blame yourself, the fact that you can't bare the thought of those you love in pain, or danger is not a flaw. And Harry you did not lose all the family you had left- you still have me. You will always have me- whatever comes next I will be by your side, and you have the Weasley's- I know it's not the same- but we all love you.' They did not speak anymore, they just held each other, both with tears on their faces in till they fell asleep.

'She was right it was partly our fault.' Kingsley sounded so somber, a tone they had't heard in his voice since the war. Molly wiped tears from her face nodding.

'We couldn't have known...'

'That does not justify anything.' Godric's voice was so harsh McGonagall took a step back. 'You wanted to treat him as a child. You all bare responsibility.'

'Do any of you know what the prophecy said?' Sookie wanted to change the subject of blame, it would not help or change anything.

'No.'

'Start the memories, I want my princess awake.'

Godric knew he was not handling watching the memories well. He was furious all he could do is sit and watch as she put herself in danger time and time again. He wanted to kill the man that hit her with that spell, if he wasn't dead already Godric vowed to find him and kill him as slowly as posable. Perhaps he would impale him and leave him for the birds. No one argued with the angry vampire. Eric could feel how close Godric was to ripping someone apart, he knew he would not be able to stop him, even if he tried- which he wouln't. But he did hope his maker didn't kill anyone close to the pixie, he doubted she would thank him for it.

'Just so you know, I think the next set of memories will have a lot to do with me, and not in a good way.' Draco did not want to speak, but he thought maybe warning the vampire a head of time will help. Sookie snorted.

'What a surprise.' Eric smirked at his lover.

'You fear me Draco Malfoy?' Godric rounded on him, Draco did't answer- but he didn't have to. 'I will not kill you, simply because I know she does not desire it. If she did I would rip you to pieces, and none of them,' he looked around. 'Would even get their wands in the air before it was done.' Draco gulped and nodded.

When the memories started again Ron, and Hermione were walking into a a bedroom where Harry was sleeping.

'That's mine and Fred's old room at the Burrow.'

Ron hit Harry on the head, and got yelled at by Hermione for it. When Harry was sitting up in bed he told them bout Dumbledore taking him to meet Professor Slughorn. Hermione sat on the bed with him, while Ron took the other bed. Ginny joined them, and soon Fleur Delacour walked in with a breakfast tray. This confused Sookie, Eric, and Godric in till she told Harry, she was to be married to Ron's older brother Bill. Not long after Mrs. Weasley called Ginny away from the group.

As Ron was helping Harry eat, Hermione was digging through boxes by the bed, she was holding up what looked like a small telescope. Harry told Ron and Hermione Dumbledore would be giving him private lessons that year, causing Ron to choke and Hermione to gape at him. They both took turns guessing what Dumbledore would be teaching Harry. Then Ron wondered out loud why Dumbledore was giving him private lessons. Harry took a deep breath and put his fork down.

'I don't know exactly why he's going to be giving me lessons, but I think it must be because of the prophecy.' Neither Ron nor Hermione spoke. 'You know, the one they were trying to steal at the Ministry.'

'Nobody knows what it said, though,' Hermione said quickly. 'It got smashed.'

'That glass ball that smashed wasn't the only record of the prophecy. I heard the whole thing in Dumbledore's office, he was the one the prophecy was made to, so he could tell me. From what it said,' Harry took a deep breath, 'it looks like I'm the one who's got to finish off Voldemort… At least, it said neither of us could live while the other survives.'

'What were the exact words Harry?' Hermione was very pale. Everyone watching took a step closer listening very intently.

'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ...'

'Merlin.' McGonagall breathed, Molly or Kingsley could not even find words.

'He really was the chosen one,' Blaze was impressed.

Hermione squeezed the small telescope, and it popped. She disappeared behind a cloud of black smoke. Harry and Ron jumped up alarmed. When she emerged she had a black eye. She paid no mind to this, she started rambling about the prophecy. She asked Harry if he was scared but he said he wasn't anymore. Harry started looking uncomfortable, so Ron and Hermione changed the subject, deciding Dumbledore would be teaching him advanced defensive spells. When Harry told them Dumbledore said their O.W.L results would arrive that day Hermione panicked and ran from the room.

'But didn't Hermione kill Voldemort? So the prophecy was wrong.' Sookie was very confused.

'Prophecies often have double meanings, I'm sure as her memories go on it will all be clear.'

When shopping for schoolbooks, Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran into Draco and followed him to Borgin and Burkes, where they overhear Draco threatening Borgin and insisting that he fix an unknown object. Harry is instantly suspicious of Draco, and becomes obsessed insisting Draco had become a Death Eater, just like his father. When they return to school Dumbledore announces that Snape will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, much to everyone's surprise.

'Was he right?' Sookie asked Draco, he sighed and nodded, while rolling up his left sleeve- there on his forearm was the Dark Mark. Eric and Godric both hissed.

During their first potions class Harry receives a used textbook that once belonged to someone named "The Half-Blood Prince." Spells and amendments are written in the margins of the book, he used the altered version and was surprised to see it worked. Hermione is furious and insists that he is cheating, and he should hand the book in.

After Harry's first lesson with Dumbledore he tells Ron and Hermione they used Dumbledore's pensieve to look at memories. He tells them about Voldemort's family, including his grandfather Marvolo, his uncle Morfin, and his mother Merope, who cast a love spell on Tom Riddle, Voldemort's father- and was abandoned by him when it wore off. Hermione found it very interesting, but Ron was confused. Hermione explained that Dumbledore probably thought that if Harry can learn enough about Voldemort's history, it would help him when they finally fight face to face, as the prophecy foretells.

'What is a squib?' Blaze answered Godric.

'A person born to magical parents that don't have their own magic, or have very little- it's the opposite of a muggle born.' Godric nodded.

'Wait- let me get this straight. Voldemort's father was a muggle, his mother could barely do magic at all, and yet he had an army of pureblood supremacist following him?' Sookie looked incredulous.

'I'm sure he didn't advertise either fact, but yes it seems so. I knew his father was a muggle, but I was ever told about his mother.'

As Hermione, Ron, and Harry are walking back from the Three Broomsticks, they witness Katie Bell cursed. Harry was convinced it was Draco, and tried to tell McGonagall, but she did not believe him. McGonagall raised her eyebrows at Draco in question, he nodded at her. The weeks went by and Harry was becoming more and more obsessed with Draco. He began looking for him on the Map several times a day. When they return from the Winter hols Harry told Hermione about the conversation he over heard between Snape, and Draco. After another lesson with Dumbledore, Harry went to Hermione and asked if she ever heard of a horcrux, and tells her Dumbledore's request that he get the memory from Slughorn.

'Of course.' McGonagall was very pale.

'He made a horcrux, that's why he didn't die the night he attacked Harry.' Kingsley to looked like he might be sick, but no one else seemed to grasp the significance of the word.

'What's a horcrux?' Their grave expressions made Draco very curious. Kingsley and McGonagall gave each other grave looks before McGonagall answered.

'A horcrux is a powerful object in which a Dark wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality. It gives one the ability to anchor their soul to the earth if the body is destroyed- they are the Darkest and wickedest of magical inventions. You must understand, the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is a violation against concepts of horcruxes are so terrifying, they were kept secret from most of the wizarding world, and only few ever knew what they were. How could I not have realized?' McGonagall seemed to drift into thought. She knew the non magical people in the room, and even the magical people could not grasp just how Dark horcruxes were and she had no way of conveying it to them.

'He split his soul?' Sookie to now looked sick, she was a religious woman. Brought up to believe her whole life that the soul is the essence of humanity, the part of you that goes to heaven- or hell depending on how you lived your life. The thought that someone split theirs in half made her want to run to church as fast as her legs could carry her.

'So it seems.'

Hermione tells Harry he must be very careful in how he goes about getting the memory from Slughorn. On Ron's seventeenth birthday he is poisoned by spiked mead. Hermione rushes to the hospital wing where her, Harry, Ginny, and the twins dicuss who could have done it. Soon after his release, Ron tells Harry to use the Felix Felicis to get the took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle.

'Well, here goes,' Harry said, and he raised the little bottle and look a gulp.

'What does it feel like?' Hermione whispered.

Harry did not answer for a got to his feet, smiling. 'Excellent,' he said. 'Really excellent. Right… I'm going down to Hagrid's.'

'What?!' Ron and Hermione said together, looking aghast.

'No, Harry — you've got to go and see Slughorn, remember?' said Hermione.

'No,' Harry said confidently. 'I'm going to Hagrid's, I've got a good feeling about going to Hagrid's.'

'You've got a good feeling about burying a giant spider?' Ron asked, looking stunned.

'Yeah,' said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. 'I feel like it's the place to be tonight, you know what I mean?'

'No,'Ron and Hermione together said both looking alarmed now.

'This is Felix Felicis, I suppose?' Hermione said anxiously, holding up the bottle to the light. 'You haven't got another little bottle full of — I don't know —'

'Essence of Insanity?' suggested Ron, as Harry swung his cloak over his shoulders. Harry laughed, and Ron and Hermione looked even more alarmed.

'Trust me,' he said. 'I know what I'm doing… or at least' he strolled confidently to the door, 'Felix does.'

'Reminds me of the first time me and Fred got him pissed off fire whiskey.' George laughed- in till he saw his mothers face. 'Urm, I mean- well...' he trailed off.

Harry told Ron and Hermione everything that had happened during next morning's Charms lesson They were both impressed by the way he had wheedled the memory out of Slughorn and positively awed when he told them about Voldemort's horcruxes and Dumbledore's promise to take Harry along, should he find another one.

'Sweet Merlin- six horcruxes.' McGonagall had to stop the memory and conjure a seat. 'That's what they were doing that year on the run, the reason they broke into Gringotts- they were hunting horcruxes.' She did not know what to do with this information, it was beyond anything she could have imagined. By the looks on the faces around her she was not the only one.

'Six horcruxes.' Kingsley repeated. Poppy actually got sick.

'He was an abomination.' Blaze thought it was slightly amusing to hear a three thousand year old vampire call someone an abomination. But he had to agree, splitting your soul into seven pieces was a level of evil he didn't know existed.

Ron and Hermione were sitting together in the common room when Harry came running in.

'What does Dumbledore want?' Hermione said at once. 'Harry, are you okay?' she added anxiously.

'I'm fine,'Harry said shortly, racing past them up the stairs. Ron and Hermione sat, looking stunned. 'I haven't got much time,' Harry panted when he came back down, 'Dumbledore thinks I'm getting my Invisibility Cloak. Listen…' Quickly he told them where he was going, and why. He did not pause either for Hermione's gasps of horror or for Ron's hasty questions. '… so you see what this means?' Harry finished at a gallop. 'Dumbledore won't be here tonight, so Malfoy's going to have another clear shot at whatever he's up to. No, listen to me!' he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting. 'I know it was Malfoy celebrating in the Room of Requirement. Here —' He shoved the Marauder's Map into Hermione's hand. 'You've got to watch him and you've got to watch Snape, too. Use anyone else who you can rustle up from the DA. Hermione, those contact Galleons will still work, right? Dumbledore says he's put extra protection in the school, but if Snape's involved, he'll know what Dumbledore's protection is, and how to avoid it — but he won't be expecting you lot to be on the watch, will he?'

'Harry —' began Hermione, her eyes huge with fear.

'I haven't got time to argue,' Harry said curtly. 'Take this as well —' He thrust the socks into Ron's hands.

'Thanks,' said Ron. 'Er — why do I need socks?'

'You need what's wrapped in them, it's the Felix Felicis. Share it between yourselves I'd better go, Dumbledore's waiting —'

'No!' said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. 'We don't want it, you take it, who knows what you're going to be facing?' She looked at him with pleading eyes.

'I'Il be fine, I'll be with Dumbledore,' Harry said. 'I want to know you're okay… don't look like that, Hermione, I'll see you later…' And he was off, Hermione let out a small sob, and took a step forward to follow him but Ron stopped her with a hand on her shoulder shaking his head.

Ron and Hermione did as Harry told them to. Hermione and Luna went to stand watch outside Snape's office, while Ron, Neville, and Ginny went to the Room of Requirement. Hermione waited outside of Snape's office for hours when professor Flitwick came running down the hall yelling that their were Death-Eaters in the castle. He went into Snape's office, a moment later they heard a thud, and Snape came out telling them to tend to the professor who had passed out. When they entered the office he was indeed passed out. Hermione told Luna to levitate him to the hospital wing, and she ran out of the office. Godric moaned as his mate ran towards the battle. She joined the fray firing spells as good as any member of the Order. More than once she was almost hit with a Killing curse, and each time Godric growled. Eric was impressed watching her fight, he thought she might be helpful when he and Godric plan their take over. Tho by the look on Godric's face he might not survive asking him if it was a good idea to involve her. The battle continued and soon Harry came running down the stairs after Draco and Snape, Hermione tried to follow but she was engaged by a Death-Eater before she could make a move towards him. After the Death-Eaters retreated she was about to go looking for Harry but Ron, had found Bill, who was unconscious with his face and neck cut to ribbons. Sookie gaged at the sight. Neville was also wounded, but not badly. As a group they made their way to the hospital wing. Hermione paced she kept looking at the door, everyone could tell she wanted to run out, but she stayed and comforted Ron. Soon Harry and Ginny joined them. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him; Lupin moved forward too, looking anxious.

'Are you all right, Harry?'

'I'm fine… How's Bill?'

Nobody answered. Harry looked over Hermione's shoulder and saw an unrecognizable face lying on Bill's pillow, so badly slashed and ripped that he looked grotesque. Madam Pomfrey was dabbing at his wounds with some harsh-smelling green ointment.

'Can't you fix them with a charm or something?' he asked the matron.

'No charm will work on these,' said Madam Pomfrey. 'I've tried everything I know, but there is no cure for werewolf bites.'

'But he wasn't bitten at the full moon,' Ron said, he was gazing down into his brother's face as though he could somehow force him to mend just by staring. 'Greyback hadn't transformed, so surely Bill won't be a — a real —?' He looked uncertainly at Lupin.

'No, I don't think that Bill will be a true werewolf,' Lupin said, 'but that does not mean that there won't be some contamination. Those are cursed wounds. They are unlikely ever to heal fully, and — and Bill might have some wolfish characteristics from now on.'

'Dumbledore might know something that'd work, though,' Ron said. 'Where is he? Bill fought those maniacs on Dumbledore's orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can't leave him in this state -'

'Ron — Dumbledore's dead,' Ginny said.

'No!' Lupin looked wildly from Ginny to Harry, as though hoping the latter might contradict her, but when Harry did not, Lupin collapsed into a chair beside Bill's bed, his hands over his face.

'How did he die?' Tonks whispered. 'How did it happen?'

'Snape killed him,' said Harry. 'I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was… Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak — and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him —'

Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned. Luna's mouth trembled.

'— more Death-Eaters arrived — and then Snape — and Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra.' Harry couldn't go on.

Madam Pomfrey burst into tears. Nobody paid her any attention except Ginny, who whispered, 'Shh! Listen!' Poppy cried again watching the out in the darkness, a phoenix was singing a stricken lament of terrible beauty.

How long they all stood there, listening, they did not know, nor why it seemed to ease their pain a little to listen to the sound of their mourning, but it felt like a long time later that the hospital door opened again and Professor McGonagall entered the ward. Like all the rest, she bore marks of the recent battle: There were grazes on her face and her robes were ripped.

'Molly and Arthur are on their way,' she said, and the spell of the music was broken: Everyone roused themselves as though coming out of trances, turning again to look at Bill, or else to rub their own eyes shake their heads. 'Harry, what happened? According to Hagrid you were with Professor Dumbledore when he — when it happened. He says Professor Snape was involved in some —'

'Snape killed Dumbledore,' Harry said.

She stared at him for a moment, then swayed alarmingly; Madam Pomfrey, who seemed to have pulled herself together, ran forward, conjuring a chair from thin air, which she pushed under McGonagall.

'Snape,' repeated McGonagall faintly, falling into the chair. 'We all wondered… but he trusted… always… Snape… I can't believe it…'

'Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens,' Lupin said, his voice uncharacteristically harsh. 'We always knew that.'

'But Dumbledore swore he was on our side!' Tonks whispered. 'I always thought Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn't…'

'He always hinted that he had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape,' muttered Professor McGonagall, now dabbing at the corners of her leaking eyes with a tartan-edged handkerchief. 'I mean… with Snapes history… of course people were bound to wonder… but Dumbledore told me explicitly that Snape's repentance was absolutely genuine — Wouldn't hear a word against him!'

'I'd love to know what Snape told him to convince him,' Tonks said.

'I know,' Harry said, and they all turned to look at him. 'Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad. Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn't realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry that they were dead.' They all stared at him.

'And Dumbledore believed that?' said Lupin incredulously. 'Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape hated James…'

'And he didn't think my mother was worth a damn either,' said Harry, 'because she was Muggle-born… 'Mudblood,' he called her…' Draco flinched.

Nobody asked how Harry knew this. All of them seemed to be lost in horrified shock, trying to digest the monstrous truth of what had happened.

'This is all my fault,' said Professor McGonagall suddenly. She looked disoriented, twisting her wet handkerchief in her hands. 'My fault. I sent Filius to fetch Snape tonight, I actually sent for him to come and help us! If I hadn't alerted Snape to what was going on, he might never have joined forces with the Death Eaters. I don't think he knew they were there before Filius told him, I don't think he knew they were coming.'

'It isn't your fault, Minerva,'Lupin said firmly. 'We all wanted more help, we were glad to think Snape was on his way…'

'So when he arrived at the fight, he joined in on the Death Eaters' side?' Harry asked.

'I don't know exactly how it happened,' said Professor McGonagall distractedly. 'It's all so confusing… Dumbledore had told us that he would be leaving the school for a few hours and that we were to patrol the corridors just in case… Remus, Bill, and Nymphadora were to join us… and so we patrolled. All seemed quiet. Every secret passageway out of the school was covered. We knew nobody could fly in. There were powerful enchantments on every entrance into the castle. I still don't know how the Death-Eaters can possibly have entered…'

'I do,' said Harry, and he explained, briefly, about the pair of Vanishing Cabinets and the magical pathway they formed. 'So they got in through the Room of Requirement.' He glanced from Ron to Hermione, both of whom looked devastated. Godric growled at Draco.

'I messed up, Harry,' Ron said bleakly. 'We did like you told us: We checked the Marauder's Map and we couldn't see Malfoy on it, so we thought he must be in the Room of Requirement, so me, Ginny, and Neville went to keep watch on it… but Malfoy got past us.'

'He came out of the room about an hour after we started keeping watch,' said Ginny. 'He was on his own, clutching that awful shriveled arm —'

'His Hand of Glory,' said Ron. 'Gives light only to the holder, remember?'

'Anyway,' Ginny went on, 'he must have been checking whether the coast was clear to let the Death Eaters out, because the moment he saw us he threw something into the air and it all went pitch-black —'

'Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder,' said Ron bitterly. 'Fred and George's. I'm going to be having a word with them about who they let buy their products.' Now George flinched.

'We tried everything, Lumos, Incendio,' said Ginny. 'Nothing would penetrate the darkness; all we could do was grope our way out of the corridor again, and meanwhile we could hear people rushing past us. Obviously Malfoy could see because of that hand thing and was guiding them, but we didn't dare use any curses or anything in case we hit each other, and by the time we'd reached a corridor that was light, they'd gone.'

'Luckily,' said Lupin hoarsely, 'Ron, Ginny, and Neville ran into us almost immediately and told us what had happened. We found the Death-Eaters minutes later, heading in the direction of the Astronomy Tower. Malfoy obviously hadn't expected more people to be on the watch; he seemed to have exhausted his supply of Darkness Powder, at any rate. A fight broke out, they scattered and we gave chase. One of them, Gibbon, broke away and headed up the tower stairs -'

'To set off the Mark?' asked Harry.

'He must have done, yes, they must have arranged that before they left the Room of Requirement,' said Lupin. 'But I don't think Gibbon liked the idea of waiting up there alone for Dumbledore, because he came running back downstairs to rejoin the fight and was hit by a Killing Curse that just missed me.'

'So if Ron was watching the Room of Requirement with Ginny and Neville,' said Harry, turning to Hermione, 'were you —?'

'Outside Snape's office, yes,' whispered Hermione, her eyes sparkling with tears, 'with Luna. We hung around for ages outside it and nothing happened… We didn't know what was going on upstairs, Ron had taken the map — It was nearly midnight when Professor Flitwick came sprinting down into the dungeons. He was shouting about Death-Eaters in the castle, I don't think he really registered that Luna and I were there at all, he just burst his way into Snape's office and we heard him saying that Snape had to go back with him and help and then we heard a loud thump and Snape came hurtling out of his room and he saw us and — and —'

'What?' Harry urged her.

'I was so stupid, Harry!'Hermione said in a high-pitched whisper. 'He said Professor Flitwick had collapsed and that we should go and take care of him while he — while he went to help fight the Death-Eaters —' She covered her face in shame and continued to talk into her fingers, so that her voice was muffled. 'We went into his office to see if we could help Professor Flitwick and found him unconscious on the floor… and oh, it's so obvious now, Snape must have Stupefied Flitwick, but we didn't realize, Harry, we didn't realize, we just let Snape go!'

'It's not your fault,' said Lupin firmly. 'Hermione, had you not obeyed Snape and got out of the way, he probably would have killed you and Luna.'

'So then he came upstairs, and he found the place where you were all fighting…'

'We were in trouble, we were losing,' said Tonks in a low voice. 'Gibbon was down, but the rest of the Death-Eaters seemed ready to fight to the death. Neville had been hurt, Bill had been savaged by Greyback… It was all dark… curses flying everywhere… The Malfoy boy had vanished, he must have slipped past, up the stairs… then more of them ran after him, but one of them blocked the stair behind them with some kind of curse… Neville ran at it and got thrown up into the air —'

'None of us could break through,' said Ron, 'When Hermione came that massive Death Eater was still firing off jinxes all over the place, they were bouncing off the walls and barely missing us…'

'And then Snape was there,' said Tonks, 'and then he wasn't —'

'I saw him running, but that huge Death-Eaters jinx just missed me right afterward and I ducked and lost track of things,' Hermione said.

'I saw him run straight through the cursed barrier as though it wasn't there,' said Lupin. 'I tried to follow him, but was thrown back just like Neville…'

'He must have known a spell we didn't, he was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher…I just assumed that he was in a hurry to chase after the Death-Eaters who'd escaped up to the tower…'

'He was,' Harry said savagely, 'but to help them, not to stop them… and I'll bet you had to have a Dark Mark to get through that barrier — so what happened when he came back down?'

'Well, the big Death-Eater had just fired off a hex that caused half the ceiling to fall in, and also broke the curse blocking the stairs, we all ran forward — those of us who were still standing anyway — and then Snape and the boy emerged out of the dust — obviously, none of us attacked them —'

'We just let them pass,'Tonks said in a hollow voice. 'We thought they were being chased by the Death-Eaters — and next thing, the other Death-Eaters and Greyback were back and we were fighting again — I thought I heard Snape shout something, but I don't know what —'

'He shouted, 'It's over,' Harry said. 'He'd done what he'd meant to do.' They all fell silent. Fawkes's lament was still echoing over the dark grounds outside as the memory went dark.

'Draco-?' Blaze looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. Draco shook his head.

'I'm sorry- I didn't want to- I...'

'Poor Harry, the year before Sirius, and now Dumbledore.' Sookie wiped tears from her face.

'Yes, he took it very hard. They were much closer than I realized.' McGonagall also had tears in her eyes.

'Did you see how well he pixie fought?' Eric asked his maker, who was glaring daggers at Draco.

'Yes, she is quite the warrior.' Then he looked at Eric with understanding, and growled. 'Do not even suggest it Eric.' His tone made Eric step back with his head bowed. The others were confused but the vampires did not explain. Luckily for Eric the memory's started again.

'What did Scrimgeour want?' Hermione whispered to Harry.

'Same as he wanted at Christmas,' he shrugged. 'Wanted me to give him inside information on Dumbledore and be the Ministry's new poster boy.'

Ron seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, then he said loudly to Hermione, 'Look, let me go back and hit Percy!'

'No,' she said firmly, grabbing his arm.

'It'll make me feel better!' Harry laughed, so did George. Even Hermione grinned a little, though her smile faded as she looked up at the castle.

'I can't bare the idea that we might never come back.' she said softly. 'How can Hogwarts close?'

'Maybe it won't,' Ron said. 'We're not in any more danger here than we are at home, are we? Everywhere's the same now. I'd even say Hogwarts is safer, there are more wizards inside to defend the place. What d'you reckon, Harry?'

'I'm not coming back even if it does reopen,' Harry said. Ron gaped at him, but Hermione said sadly, 'I knew you were going to say that. But then what will you do?'

'I'm going back to the Dursleys' once more, because Dumbledore wanted me to,' Harry said. 'But it'll be a short visit, and then I'll be gone for good.'

'But where will you go if you don't come back to school?'

'I thought I might go back to Godric's Hollow,' Harry muttered. 'For me, it started there, all of it. I've just got a feeling I need to go there. And I can visit my parents' graves, I'd like that.'

'And then what?' Ron asked.

'Then I've got to track down the rest of the horcruxes, haven't I? That's what he wanted me to do, that's why he told me all about them. If Dumbledore was right — and I'm sure he was — there are still four of them out there. I've got to find them and destroy them and then I've got to go after the seventh bit of Voldemort's soul, the bit that's still in his body, and I'm the one who's going to kill him. And if I meet Severus Snape along the way,' he added, 'so much the better for me, so much the worse for him.'

'We'll be there, Harry,' Hermione said taking his hand.

'What?'

'At your aunt and uncle's house, and then we'll go with you, wherever you're going.'

'No —' said Harry quickly.

'You said to us once before,' Hermione said quietly, 'that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we? Besides I already told you I would be by your side whatever comes next, your stuck with me Harry Potter- always.'

'We're with you whatever happens,' said Ron. 'But, mate, you're going to have to come round my mum and dad's house before we do anything else, even Godric's Hollow.'

'Why?'

'Bill and Fleur's wedding, remember?' Harry looked at him, startled.

'Yeah, we shouldn't miss that,' he said finally.

'Godric's Hollow.' Sookie smiled at Godric.

'For Godric Gryffindor.' McGonagall said proudly. Godric smirked.


End file.
